Time Phase
by ItachiBlack
Summary: Snape time travels to the past yet a huge problem occurs! He's turn the same age as Harry, Ron, and Hermione and he has to pretend to be a new student at Hogwarts under the orders of Dumbledore. Snape never expected that there could be such a strong attraction between him and Hermione. So far he's stuck in their time and he doesn't know what will happen to him. Please follow update
1. Mission Begins

Time Phase

Snape X Hermione

Chapter 1: Time Turner

Snape began turning the time turner for the new mission Dumbledore gave him. It was truly annoying; Albus was such a demanding, frustrating, old man and this time Albus didn't even both explaining what his job was. All he was told was that he was to time travel to the past. He rotated the time turner several times and instantly something felt wrong. The sensation was wrong, this was his first time using this machine but this was definitely wrong. It shouldn't feel like this, this felt similar to apparition. His body began to ache and the splitting headache made him shut his eyes. After a while everything stopped and he opened his eyes. He looked around and he was still within Hogwarts. He sighed in relief, it seemed like nothing terrible happened. With his usual habit, he ran his hand through his hair. Wait. His hair was shorter. He frowned and looked at his hands as well; they were smaller. What the bloody hell was going on. He looked down at his feet and a lot of his clothing was loose and his cloak was pooling beneath his feet. He gripped on his clothes so they wouldn't fall off and stared up at the ceiling. It was higher than usual. Dread and anger filled him as he kept his oversized shirt from slipping off his shoulder. He stormed to Albus's office.

When he entered the wizard's office, Dumbledore looked bewildered. Snape knew he looked furious and ridiculous but currently he needed explanations and help from Albus. Dumbledore rose from his chair and approached Snape slowly.

"Is that you Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, it's me. I'm from the future and the future you sent me on a mission and now I look like this," he seethed as he threw the time turner onto Dumbledore's desk.

"Merlin's beard, this is fantastic Severus!" shouted Albus.

Did he hear correctly? Did Albus just describe this awful situation, fantastic? That was the last word he would use.

"In the future I succeeded in creating this unique turner! I always hoped to craft this time turner but unfortunately it does look broken right now," explained Dumbledore.

Hippie, hurray good for the bloody old man but he shrunk! Every word coming out of the man was adding fuel to his anger.

"I made this just for you, Severus," and Dumbledore was about to continue his sentence.

"Wait. You intentionally shrunk me," said Snape calmly.

"Well yes," answered Dumbledore.

"Albus, you better be joking otherwise I just might start hexing you this instant," vehemently threatened Snape.

"Quit being so cynical Severus and hear me out. I did this for you because I believed that our plan for defeating Voldemort was too dangerous on your account. Therefore I made did device to make you younger," explained Albus slowly.

"For what purpose?" Snape asked coldly.

"This way you could become a student. This year Harry Potter is arriving to Hogwarts and now you may be in the same grade as him. You wished to protect Lily Evan's son and this way seemed much easier for you. You could become his friend," smiled Albus.

"I don't want to be that brat's friend. I can't stand the boy!" hissed Snape.

"Severus, you haven't even met the boy yet," said the headmaster.

Snape raised his eyebrows. "I'm from the future. I know what he's like and I hate him as much as I hated James Potter."

"Very well then. I won't ask you to be his friend but do watch over him?" pleaded Albus.

"Is this my mission?" questioned Snape.

"Yes," replied Dumbledore.

"Then I don't have a choice," answered Snape bitterly.

At the moment Minerva entered the room.

"Oh my, who's this?" asked Minerva.

"It's Severus. He's from the future," explained Dumbledore.

"But he's so young!" cried out Minerva.

Snape stayed in the shade and glared at the two of them as Dumbledore told the story from the top.

"That's rather complex," said Minerva.

"It is quite complex as you say so could you explain this to the staff but the younger Snape should not meet the older Snape. We don't know what kind of phenomenon would occur if they were to meet. Also please get Severus some clothes that would fit him properly," demanded Albus.

"Of course," curtly replied Minerva as she exited the office.

When she returned, he was given the Slytherin sweater with jeans and a black cloak.

He went to the washroom to change. He stared at his reflection from the mirror. Snape looked just like when he was thirteen year old. His hair only reached to his cheeks and he sighed. He couldn't believe he was a teenager again; he dreaded his teen years. Every teenagers were emotionally, physically, and mentally unbalanced all due to the raging hormones and he had nothing but miserable memories of his student years; nothing but wrong choices like calling Lily a mudblood.

He slowly took off his baggy clothes and stared at his body. He looked at the mirror, his body wasn't completely muscular or scrawny but he was lean. His skin was pale and smooth. He was taller than most average people. He put on the sweater and the jean on; they were a bit tight. Only the black cloak fitted him perfectly. Then he realized he had to go shopping for clothes. He hated shopping with people buzzing around everywhere. All the shoving and noise bugged him but he had no choice but to get clothes that would fit him properly. He got out of the washroom and went back to Dumbledore's office.

"Dumbledore, ask the older me to give me the Gringott's key," ordered Severus.

"Of course, I'll be right back." Dumbledore quickly left the room and returned with the key. With the key he left Hogwarts. He was about to apparate until he remembered his current age. It would be illegal for him to apparate. There was no way that he was going to walk all the way there. Snape knew all the passwords and traps laid throughout the school. He went to the broom storage and he was about to take one of the brooms until he heard a high pitch of whistle. He looked back to see Rolanda Hooch marching towards him.

Once she arrived, she firmly gripped onto his wrist. No one dared to touch him and he wasn't about to allow Rolanda to touch him. He used his other hands to grab her wrist and because he was slightly smaller than her, he easily slipped behind her. Rolanda began to struggle and reach for her wand. He tore his arms out of her grip and managed to wrap his arms tightly around her. He whispered into the frantic woman's ear, "It's me, Severus. Calm down unless you do so, I won't release you," he ordered. She stopped struggling at once and he released her as promised.

When she turned around, her face was red. "Why's your face all red," he asked.

"I didn't realize it was you Severus and you were whispering in my ears so you know; I guess my face got red. Anyways I heard couple of minutes ago that you turned younger but wow you really look different! You actually look much more handsome and who knew you were this strong," she continued ranting on.

What was this woman talking about? Either way, he wasted enough time as it is and he had no interest to hear her ramblings. "Enough," he said coldly. She did as she was told and coughed to hide her embarrassment. "I just needed a broom," explained Snape. She didn't utter another word and passed him a broom. He got on the broom and flew to Gringott.

Hermione walked into the wizarding bank; it was honestly frightening to see the goblins working. She read about them from her muggle storybooks when she was younger. Yet she never expected to see them. It was her first time in the wizard world and because her parents were muggles, they couldn't come here. She had to change her muggle money to wizard money so she could buy her supplies for Hogwarts tomorrow. She approached one of the goblins and the goblin just plainly stared down at her.

"I need to change my muggle money to wizarding money," she replied. She honestly didn't know how to progress all this because she didn't know the currency. Before she was aware, there was a long line behind her. This was turning embarrassing. Suddenly a tall boy with long black hair stood beside her. He was strikingly handsome and he had a mysterious aura around him. It was alluring. He was clicking his tongue in annoyance presumably.

He began to change her muggle money into gold, silver, and copper coins. "There you go." He handed the coins to her. She didn't dare to move after their eyes met. His eyes were deep black slightly covered by his long black eyelashes. His eyes had the ability to pull people in. He took out a key and the goblin got out of his seat. "Come with me, sir" said the goblin. He strode away and she followed since he seemed to know a lot about this entire place.

"Why are you following me around?" he asked.

"Because I don't know anything about this world," she replied.

He didn't bother to look back at her but he didn't seem to have anything against her following him so she continued to follow him. Hermione didn't like the silence and she thought she should explain to him why she didn't know this world.

"I'm a muggle born, that's why I don't know this place," Hermione said. There was still no reply.

_Man she's annoying with her endless chatter. _Yet the word muggle-born stuck with him. He peered back at her without moving his head and their eyes met; her large, warm, brown eyes. He cursed that she resembled Lily so much; although he's taught her for several years, he's forgotten that she was a muggle born. He thought deeply; _they are both muggle born, Gryffindor, talented, clever witches. _It truly felt like the universe was messing with him. She seemed to be waiting for him to saying something.

He sighed and gave her what she wanted, "Is that why your parents aren't here?" She lit up brightly and smiled that he was answering back. He smirked; she was such an easy going, foolish girl in this way.

"Yeah, I was really surprised that muggles with no magic power couldn't pass the border line. It was quite sad actually," she whispered her last sentence.

"You shouldn't rely on people too much including your parents," he replied. He meant it, being too dependent on people could hurt sometimes especially when they let you down. Since he was a child he solely relied on his strength only; that's what his parents taught him. They always neglected him so he had no choice but to survive on his own.

"So you don't rely on your parents?" she asked quietly.

"They're deceased," he said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she whispered.

"Don't be", he answered and he meant that statement. He never needed pity and he hated that emotion.

They reached his vault and he gave his key to the goblin. He looked down at the girl standing next to him. Her eyes were shining with curiosity and excitement and with a click the vault slowly opened. He smiled at her reaction as her mouth dropped. He got rid of his smile and entered his safe and grabbed a bag of gold, silver and copper.

"How do you have so much money?!"She asked.

His next action surprised her. He gave her a charming grin and got his index finger in front on his mouth as he said, "That's a secret." Afterwards they exited the bank. She was surprised by his smile; from all the smiles she's seen his was the best.

"What are you going to buy?" Hermione asked. If he was withdrawing so much money, he had to be buying something.

"Stuff." The boy continued to give her only short, vague answers. He walked off and grabbed a broom. She raised her eyebrows and asked another question, "Is that broom yours?"

"No, it's borrowed," he answered.

What amazed her more was the symbol on his cloak, Hogwarts! Was this boy attending the same school she was entering tomorrow?

"That's the Hogwarts symbol on your chest! Are you also going there?" she eagerly asked.

Snape was going to go insane; this girl was bombarding him with questions. "Yeah, I am," he replied.

"By the way what's your name? I'm Hermione Granger," she extended her hands as she introduced herself.

He frowned as he was getting a headache from all the chattering. "I'm Severus….," _shit, I can't give her my real name._ The headache distracted him and he was about to automatically give his real name and that was prohibited.

"Severus…" she was waiting for his last name. He made it certain that she wouldn't tell his emotions but honestly he was panicking. His strand of hair fell down and covered his left eye.

"Severus Black," he answered. _Damn it, I just named myself after a fleabag that I hated._ The colour of his hair was black so he just gave whatever popped into his head at the moment.

"Can I call you Sev?" she asked innocently and all of his muscles tensed up. Only Lily called him that but Hermione just chose that nickname for him.

He darkly asked, "Why did you choose that?"

She smiled, "Do you like it? It just came to me instinctively I guess. Since your name is Severus, I thought Sev was cute."

That's all he needed to hear to swiftly turn on his heel to go to the shops. Hermione's answer was similar to Lily's answer from several years ago. _ But Granger just called me cute. A lot of adjectives were used to describe me but it was the first time someone decided to use the word 'cute'_. _Absolutely ridiculous. _

"You're ears are red, Sev" she pointed out.

"No, it's not," he snapped.

He could hear her muffled giggles behind him and he rolled his eyes. When they approached Diagon Alley, she ran next to him. Her eyes began to sparkle with excitement and she grabbed his sleeve as she ran into the busy crowd. She was about to rush off again but this time, he grasped onto her wrist.

"Quit, running off. It'd be a pain if you were to get lost around here. You said it's your first time being here, right? Then stick close," he ordered her. Maybe it was because he was her teacher that he felt some responsibility for her welfare.

"Can we go see the potion shop?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked curiously. He didn't recall having any of the first years purchasing anything except for a cauldron for potions.

"I haven't done any potions before but I already feel a connection to it," she explained shyly.

He understood what she meant, that was like him when he first saw the arts of potion. He had a small smile on him for a minute but it was left unnoticed by Hermione who was too focused at the shop.

"It's really weird of me isn't it?" she asked.

"Not at all," he muttered silently.

They entered the potion shop and they were surrounded by all the ingredients known to the wizard world. The store clerk came rushing out from the back door and greeted them, "Ah, first years for Hogwarts. You two are looking for cauldrons I suspect."

"Yes sir, we need two cauldrons that's standard size two" Hermione responded happily.

Severus was already looking at the brands the store had in stock. He picked up one of the cauldrons and flicked his finger at the bottom of the cauldron. Hermione stood next to him and picked up the grey cauldron.

"This one looks good," she said.

"Don't buy that one. The bottom is thin; it won't be durable for some of the potions. It wouldn't last long either, it's better to buy this one," he concluded as he passed the one in his hand.

"You've got good eyes lad" commented the clerk.

"It has nothing to do with the eyes, more like experience" he explained.

"Experience?" asked Hermione.

"Um…yeah. I brewed potions before," he answered. It looked like she had more questions to ask but she held her tongue. Instead of asking him more, she passed him a cauldron.

"I don't need it," he said as he passed it back to her. _I wouldn't need it since I won't be taking potions. The older me is there so I'd be forbidden to attend my own class._

Now she couldn't help but ask him, "Why not?"

"Because I finished the entire subject," he spat. He didn't like being questioned so much and he wasn't lying either. He graduated Hogwarts quite a while ago.

"That's unbelievable! That'd make you a genius or something," she shouted. Hermione was getting so excited by this news and Severus was enjoying her reaction until it got too annoying.

"Just don't go off telling everyone else," he said.

"Okay, I promise Sev," she smiled as she agreed. Although he didn't buy a cauldron, he bought some ingredients: Angel's trumpet, asphodel, bezoar, boomslang, dragon blood, nightshade, and star grass.

As they exited the store he turned around to face her.

"Here," he passed a small bag of the ingredients that the first years would need.

"Why are you giving it to me?" she asked. _Indeed, why am I giving something to her? _Maybe it was because of their promise or something. He wasn't entirely sure himself.

"I don't know, just because," he shrugged as he walked off.

Afterwards they purchased all their textbooks and time passed quickly enough.

"Sev, do you want to go for lunch now?" she asked as she pointed at one of the restaurants. He decided it was about time to go grab something to eat. They sat on the patio as the two plates floated over to their table. They both reached for their sandwiches; Hermione took a great bite out of her lunch unlike her companion who slowly chewed on his meal. He wasn't entirely interested in his meal and observed those passing by. Hermione took a peek at Severus who didn't seem to be paying attention to anything. Over their time together she learnt that he wasn't the type to have pointless conversations but he could be considerate if he felt like it. She also noticed that he was always guarded; she could tell from his eyes but he was finally starting to relax around her. Although he never expressed any emotions on his face, his eyes were dynamic. She studied his visage and his actions as he stirred his cup of tea. His eyes met hers suddenly and she froze as he reached over and brushed a napkin over her mouth.

"You had stuff all over your mouth," and he looked away again; she could breathe again. She definitely didn't expect that and needed to distract herself from blushing, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Slytherin," he gave a short answer.

She opened one of the books she bought, "That means you value ambition, resourcefulness, and cunning. The colours of that house are green and silver and this book also mentions that the house element is water."

"You have a problem with that?" he asked.

"Not at all, I respect all the houses and I think they are all respectable in their own ways," she shrugged. Severus's loose hair fell from the side and he focused on the girl before him. How was it that she could say so many similar things as Lily Evans did? It truly bothered him and as an excelling occlumen and legilimen, it was for certain that she wasn't lying or making it up. Yet it was the same for Lily but her belief changed over time. He wasn't close with Ms. Granger but he was already afraid and cautious. Then he remembered what Dumbledore demanded of him, _be close friends with either Harry Potter or his friends. _He quickly thought over his options; he couldn't deal with Potter since he resembled James far too much along with their similar personality, as for Weasley, that would be torture, he couldn't stand idiots. He mentally grimaced as his best option was the girl sitting in front of him; Ms. Granger.

"I wonder what House I'll be in," he heard her wondering out loud.

Without thinking he whispered sadly, "You'll also be a Gryffindor just like her."

"Like whom?" she asked.

He popped his head up and asked, "What?"

"You just said…," he interrupted her; "I think you're too tired, I haven't said a word." His face was expressionless.

"If you say so," she shrugged.

"Are you done with your food?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I was waiting for you to finish yours," she replied.

"Then we're leaving," he said as he grabbed his belongings. He didn't wait for her and he approached a waitress. She came running to his side.

The waitress smiled at Severus and passed him their bill. He gave her 15 sickles and obviously Ms. Granger had to intervene, "Um.. I can pay for my own meal." He rolled his eyes is annoyance; his patience was running out for the day and he wanted to return back to Hogwarts. "Just be quiet and let me pay," he clicked his tongue. He left the restaurant quickly since he had to go buy clothes that would fit and suit him.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Gladrags Wizardwear," he answered as they both entered the shop. He rummaged through the store and picked out a couple of black sweaters and white dress shirts along with jeans and black pants. He also grabbed several belts.

He entered one of the change rooms and wore the dress-shirt and put the sweater on top. Then he secured the belt around his waist over his jean. He walked outside to look at his reflection from the mirror. As he was staring at the mirror, he saw Hermione staring at his back. "I'd rather not have someone endlessly gawking at me. Or do you like what you see?" he teased. Her face has turned scarlet and he smirked. The girl was far too innocent. His smirk faded away and it was his turn to be shy. "You do look really good in those clothes," she admitted. It was the first time that anyone complimented him so honestly for his looks. He scratched his head before he silently went back into the change room. He was going to only purchase what he chose but Hermione had a different idea.

"You looked really good in those outfits but they're all dark. You need more colours, don't you think so?" she asked.

"No," he wasn't interested to wear any bright colours.

She frowned and attempted to drag him around by his hands. He absolutely refused to have anyone touch him familiarly especially one of his students. "Don't touch me," he ordered.

"I won't if you'll try out some of the clothes I picked for you," she challenged Severus. She definitely wasn't going to back down easily and he was not going to argue publicly with a teenage girl. At the end of the day he had lime-green shirts and sweaters, a wine-red dress shirt, and blue and purple dress shirts. The girl might as well have coloured him into a rainbow. She was quite pleased by her achievement of making him agree to buy them but he was semi-amused and semi-annoyed.

When they left the shop, he was quite exhausted from the long day. He hardly ever went outside to socialize. Hermione turned around to see him and she was smiling happily. He never expected this but she gave him a quick hug that made him tense up. For a minute or two, he knew that his heartbeat changed, curse the teenage hormonal stage in life. He glared at her; she crossed the line.

"Sorry if you didn't like that," she whispered but she continued to speak, "but I was really glad to have made my first friend. Even in the muggle world other kids didn't like me because I was _different somehow._ You are my first friend and I really liked that we got to spend time today. It was a lot of fun. Thanks and see you tomorrow at Hogwarts Sev." With that she left him.

He took a deep breath from the spot and left. He took the broom and flew back to Hogwarts. Once he arrived, he went to the Syltherin's boy dormitory and slammed the door behind him. He heard other staffs call out to him; he hated attention and people following him. He pointed his wand to the door, "Silencio." Once silence returned, he collapsed onto a random bed and he fell into a deep slumber.


	2. Sorting Begins

**Author's Note: I disclaim being a British woman with the name of J.K. Rowling; all HP content belongs to her.**

**Okay I let this story bury itself in the fanfiction graveyard; terribly sorry so I've revived this story back to life. I've been busy with work, taking care of my nieces and working on my other fanfiction. Right now I honestly feel like venting but I know that I need to cool my temper right now and I just wanted my reader's opinions. When I started writing this fanfiction, I went through a break-up but I never mentioned why; most people assume that it's always the men who cheats but this time it's the other way Almighty, I don't know why but my ex suddenly decided to email a long 'I'm so sorry, what I did was so stupid and I regret it each day and night and list of the reasons why I did it' email to me. That totally raised my temper again. If started replying now, in this state, I would be writing one hell of a reply; a part of me doesn't want to do that. So I'm attempting to soothe my anger while writing this story and should I even reply back to her? *Slam head on wall***

**Thanks for reading my rant, story and it's funny to say it but I hope you enjoyed it. **

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**Time Phase Chapter 2: Sorting Into Houses**

Snape woke up the next day in a foul mood in the Slytherin dormitory; he could see much with his long, messy hair cascaded over his eyes. Today the first years would arrive with the other Hogwart students and he would be part of the _festivity. _He shook his hair off before his black eyes absorbed his surroundings. He had memories of this nostalgic room, he didn't know if he would categorize those memories as good or bad. When he first joined Slytherin and Lucius was the prefect who presented the Slytherin common room and the male dormitory. He glared at the ceiling for a while before he stormed into the dormitory showers. He removed his shirt, pants, and boxers and stared at his reflection. Earlier he hadn't noticed how his body was no longer marred with scars, he regained his youthful body. He entered the shower and allowed the hot water to run down his pale body. He raised his left arm and stared at his unmarked, pale forearm. If it wasn't for the mission, he would have believed that he had gotten a second chance to relive his past; one without endless mistakes. Even if it was a momentary, for once he felt liberated. There weren't red shackles that was covered in his victim's bloods and the shackles that were blue from people's tears, tied around his ankles. He scoffed at his foolish thought, he was summoned to the past by Albus to fight against Lord Voldemort. He switched off the knob of the showers and tied the black towel around his waist.

He went back to the dormitory to select his outfit. He stared at the clothes he bought with... Hermione; it was still too weird for her name to roll off his tongue or his brain. He wore one of his black sweater and the jean while wrapping the leather belt around his waist. He stared at the vivid coloured shirts, they weren't exactly ugly but it didn't suit his taste; not that he's ever cared for his reputation. Hell, if he did, he wouldn't be hated and feared by the Hogwart students. After he was set for the day, he approached the door and passed the metallic door, he could hear familiar women voices and giggling. He frowned at the annoying sound before he viciously swung the door open to see Sybil, Minerva, and Rolanda Hooch staring at him. He gave them a dangerous glare, warning them not to push their luck first thing in the morning.

Minerva took lead as she straightened her back, "Sybil wouldn't believe what I said last night; she disagreed that this situation would be impossible. I had Rolanda support what I had to say but even then Sybil said she wouldn't believe it until she saw you." He gave a death glare to Sybil, she always caused him nothing but trouble and she hid behind Hooch. He could clearly hear the irritable witch whisper to Hooch, "He has the same glare as the Snape from our time." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. If he was in his adult form, Sybil would be fleeing down the corridor. No, if he had is adult body, none of these women would be crowding in front of his doorsteps like dogs waiting for their master to come home. He sneered as he glided pass the tiny wall of women. As he walked along the corridor and he could still hear them gossiping in the background.

"But he does look better compared to our older Snape, doesn't he?" He could hear Rolanda in her 'hushed' voice'.

_Our Snape? He never once belonged to anybody and he absolutely refused to grow any attachments to anyone; it was too much of a hassle. _

"Only if the either of them smiled," sighed Minerva.

_Why was he expected to smile, when there was nothing to smile about?_ All Gryffindors were naïve and dumb in that degree; they displayed all their emotions without a moment of hesitation.

"I think that's a unique, charming point about Severus though," differed Rolanda. _What in Merlin's beard was wrong with the woman?_

_"_I will endlessly believe that he's a terrifying man or boy," Sybil spoke out her though in a timid voice.

_Stupid women, they always think nobody can hear them 'whispering' when their voices remained loud as ever._ He rolled his eyes as he attempted to block their conversation. He continued to stroll along until he reached the Great Hall, where the all the staffs, with the exception of his other self, Minerva, Sybil, Rolanda, and the man who he knew to be a threat against Potter and Hogwarts, Quirinus Quirrell. All the ongoing conversations came to an abrupt stop and silence filled the large room. Severus could feel everyone's eyes as the attention shifted to him.

Dumbledore stood from his chair as he merrily greeted Snape as if there was nothing wrong, "Ah, Severus, you decided to join us."

"Not in the slightest," he ignored the tension as he grabbed a cup of black tea. Albus remained unfazed as the white bearded wizard warmly smiled at him. Severus was about to return back to the Slytherin common room until he heard the old man speak, "Severus, come with me to my office." He frowned by the fact that this particular morning was so distasteful; full of unwanted attention and interruptions. He followed the older wizard up to his office.

Albus politely offered Severus a seat, but he leaned against the wall instead. He eyed Albus sitting in his own leathered seat.

"I'm certain that you noticed Quirrell missing from the Great Hall this morning, I had Minerva go talk to him," started Albus.

He nodded to make him continue, "The older you, has warned me to keep eyes on Quirrell, which I will be doing but I won't be able to supervise the man all day. I want you to discretely watch over Quirrell with me; Quirrell isn't aware of your true identity. Or better yet, could you possibly intervene during dangerous moments since you know the future. I'm not foolish enough to have you pour all the informations; the dangers of changing the future entirely; we possibly can't have that. I want time to unfold smoothly as possible while minimizing casualties. By the way all the staff has sworn to keep your identity as a secrete from the students and Quirrell."

He listened to what Albus said and was about to leave until Albus stopped him again, "Severus, tonight you'll be lined up with the first year students and be sorted."

"What about the other me?" he asked.

"He won't be in the Great Hall tonight, he will be resting in the staff lounge," explained Dumbledore.

How Severus envied his other self, he didn't want to be part of the welcome ceremony. When he was a staff, each year, he was forced to sit with the other staffs to 'welcome' the new students. Why couldn't he do this in the past? He pinched the bridge of his nose, this was giving him a headache. So overall hewas being forced to be a student and get close to... Hermione, _still far too weird, _in this unpleasant dimension. He left Dumbledore's room and headed back down to the Slytherin common room since he was banned from the dungeons.

It was definately strange for Severus; how many years has it been since he had so much free time? He passed his hand through his hair while marching back to the dormitory. He laid down on the black leathered couch and his loose hair formed a curtain for his eyes. He frowned and blew his hair which then framed his pale face. For a good 30 minutes and the speed of his tapping with his skinny fingers accelerated as he heard the clock ticking away. It didn't matter how much time passed, Snape wouldn't be abe to relax. It wasn't in his nature to be at ease, all the years of marking, working with irritable, brainless students, preparing classes, and being a double agent kept him busy. He let out a hiss; he didnt' know what to do and he was getting annoyed with the fact that he wasn't using his time efficiently. Yet as a student, he had nothing to do. The other students would be arriving around the evening and currently the staff and the elves were running around, preparing for the students. Even if there happened to be a staff who had nothing to do, he definitely wouldn't socialize. He loathed crowds and the endless, meaningless chats. He couldn't prowl around the building either since there was a chance of bumping into Quirrel or worse himself.

He roamed around the Slytherin rooms until he saw the pile of first year textbooks. He already knew all of its content and what the teachers would be educating throughout the year but he did enjoying reading. It would without a doubt kill the luxurious amount of time he had. He categorized his first year belongings. He arranged his books;The Standard Book of Spells (grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguaration by Emeric Switch, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble. He picked up the Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger and quickly ran through the contents of the book and clicked his tongue in dismay; he remembered how horrendous and useless the book was. They got minor facts wrong, but those miniscule errors could potentially destroy the potion. The art of brewing potions was extremely sensitive from the speed and direction you turned the potion to the preparation of the ingredients. Unfortunately most witches and wizards didn't recognize the delicacy within the subject that was needed for brewing the perfect potion. He reread to book and began to scribble inside the book, correcting each mistakes. Later he grabbed a cup of Earl Grey before he continued to revise the other textbooks. After he finished revising all the books, he felt pleased by the messy, scribbled contents of his books. He took a deep breath and finished the aromatic liquid in his cup. He gazed at the clock and was surprised by the time; ever since he was a child, when he read books and engrossed himself in fixing the information in the books, time always passed quickly. Soon the other students would be at the doorsteps of Hogwarts. He knew the squib, Filch the caretaker, would be organizing all the students belongings in each of the prospective house so he cleaned up after the mess he created. He set and neatly placed things in order around the bed he chose. Out of the wardrobe, he brought out the first year Hogwarts robe and put it over his body.

He stood in front of the mirror and took off his casual outfit. He wore the white dress-shirt first and quickly tied a tie that had thick stripes in the colour of green and silver. A grey v-neck jumper went over the white dress-shirt and he continued to put on addition, he wore the grey trousers and placed his feet in his black, glossy shoes. For the final touch he put on the traditional, black robe loosely. After he finished putting on the Hogwart uniform, he checked how he looked in the mirror and noticed that he still had his long hair tied in a loose pony tail. He frowned at his appearance; he looked bloody ridiculous as a student. Maybe it was due to the fact that he'd been wearing nothing but black shirt, pants, and robes. He looked at the clock, it was time for him to join the herd of fresh year student.

Severus snuck outside and joined the flowing current of students. He hissed at the bitter winds as he marched along with the students. Nobody would notice an insignificant 'student' adding to the pile. They finally reached inside the historic, legendary school. The older students laughed at the sight of the new students awed by the structure of Hogwarts but Severus simply walked pass the large crowd of students. How he hated crowds; it made him sweaty and people were shoving and stepping on each other's feet. He rested while leaning on the wall and soon enough only the first year students filled the corridor. Suddenly, a young witch collided to Snape and linked her slim arms around his. He bared his teeth at his assailant, only to find Hermione grinning at him.

"Sev, I finally found you!" she exclaimed.

He cocked his head in surprise, "You were searching for me?" He never expected for her to go look for him and he realized how much effort she put in her unnecessary mission; small beads of sweat were slowly streaming down her broad forehead. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or not so he nervously scratched his head since he didn't know what to say to the girl. Not so long ago he only saw her as an obnoxious, insufferable brat but now he was starting to slowly see her in a new light. He was beginning to acknowledge her as a human being who could possibly be... his friend. He couldn't deny her overwhelming, warm personality. She continued to beam a radiant smile at him as she nodded. He felt a tiny urge to ask her why but that wish quickly evaporated as he heard the rest of the Golden Trio's voices.

His heart recoiled at the hateful voiced; Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter. Exactly how many times did he have to secretively save those stupid boys?! He was more than certain that one of the two was extremely suicidal but then there was a great possibility that the neither of the boys knew the vocabularies: safety, caution, or planning. Their test scores proved his theory of the boys having a single digit IQ.

"You know him Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yup, his name is Sev," she answered.

He frowned at the nickname, it was fine if she called him that, he could bear that much for the sake of his job, but if Potter or Weasley dared to call him 'Sev', he wouldn't hesitate to wring their necks. He corrected his introduction as he withdrew his arm from Hermione's arm, "Severus."

The Weasley boy extended his chocolate covered hands to greet him. He wasn't the only one frowning at the boy's hand in disgust. The sassy witch prelected the redhed, "Ronald, your hands are filthy, nobody would shake your hands in that state." Ron lazily rolled his eyes and left a visible smudge of chocolate along his old robe. Once again, Ron offered his hands to Severus who returned the gesture with a scornful look. Harry who had been fidgeting his fingers attempted to gloss over the grim conversation, "I'm Harry Potter."

Severus felt sick to the pit of his stomache as his eyes met Harry's eyes. He always felt anger whenever he met the boy's eyes as everything about the boy was the resemblance of James Potter except his eyes. Those haunting eyes, Lily Evan's eyes. He quickly turned cynical towards Potter, "Yes, our newest celebrity." _Deja vu. _At Harry's name all the noise died out and his godson shoved his way out of the crowd.

Draco Malfoy also resembled his father. Draco confidently strode towards their group while puffing up his chest.

"So it's true, the famous Harry Potter is joining Hogwarts this year," the blond gave a smug smile as his comment roused several mummurs. Malfoy continued on, "I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy." The clueless redhead gave out a small laugh. Draco sneered and turned his attention to Weasley, "You think my name is funny, do you? No need to ask who you are, red hair, freckles, used robes and books. You must be a Weasley." Ron shrunk back at the confrontation and Severus couldn't help but smirk. The blond boy returned his attention back to Potter, "You are soon going to find out that some wizarding families are more superior than others, I can help you there." Severus didn't want to deal with this uselss drama so he walked off to the door with Hermione in hand.

Fortunately Minerva soon appeared out of the door and the students feel silent. Minerva gabbed all their attention with her clear, loud voice, "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards."

_And_ each_ house has its dark history as each has produced several dark, dangerous wizards and witches._ Sometimes Severus disliked the fact that as an adult, he and the others had the obligation to cover all the dark sides. He believed that this was the reason why most of the students were naïve and complained about each minor tasks. He accepted the fact that life wasn't fair since he was a boy for life truly wasn't kind to him in the least. His family life always was befouled and abusive, school was better than his private life but it carried the years of heartbreak and bullying, then he followed the wrong path which made him a Death Eater, and there were so many things he could list.

Minerva continued, "While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarted yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose along with the boy's disgusting cloak. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair while Draco tightened his tie. "I will return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall, "Please wait quietly."

His eyes ran through his surroundings, Minerva has clearly managed to make all the first years nervous, all the students were redoing their clothes and taking care of their hair. Even Hermione who was standing next to him was brushing over her pleated skirt and attempting to tame her uncontrollable mass of hair.

He sighed and asked, "Nervous?"

She looked up to him and answered, "Definitely. Aren't you?"

He gave a snort, as if he would be nervous about this trivial thing. If he got nervous about this he would have been long dead while he was a Death Eater. She continued to fix her appearance and once she finally settled down, she asked him, "How do I look?" He felt his left eyebrow arch, she was obviously waiting for a reassurance but thanks to his personality he knew he would insult her more than compliment her, so he didn't give a reply to the girl. Her hands started moving again as she bit her bottom lip, "I look that bad that you won't give me an answer." His lips went thin, _when did I ever say that or imply that idea. I've got to bloody get close to you , you daft girl, so I clearly can't go off firing insults to you. _His firm, pale hands repressed her fidgeting hands as he spoke out part of his thoughts, "I never said that."

"Move along now in two, neat files," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Minerva had returned. Before she opened the great doors she instructed the students,"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." As the entrance opened, Minerva led the students inside and the one standing next to him was Hermione. While they were walking down the aisle, he could often feel the witch's gaze but he didn't return her a glance. They came to a halt, Minerva stood in front of the staff's table and grabbed the long list. The new students eyed the dusty hat with great curiosity while he kept his eyes focused on Albus who was staring at him in return.

He kept his back straight as Minerva went down the list.

"Severus Black," she called him out front. He climbed onto the hard, uncomfortable stool and Minerva placed the damned, dusty hat on his head.

"What's this? Haven't I sorted you before, yes, I have. You are not Severus Black but Severus Snape. I remember all those who I've sorted and I sorted you 26 years ago so why am I sorting you again after all these years," the annoying hat murmured. "You were a proud Slytherin back then and it looks like you are still a Slytherin but you are a bit different compared to back then. You've faced numerous hardships, you have a hint of Gryffindor in you now so should I place in Gryffindor then?"

_Gryffindor? Me a Gryffindor? Bloody ridiculous. I am a Slytherin through and through. _But then again, it'd be much easier for his task if he was to enter Gryffindor. From the stool, he glanced at the Gryffindor table and saw the flock of the Weasley family and then his eyes rested on Potter and the youngest Weasley. He scoffed, he would never choose Gryffindor no matter how much time passed.

"Ah, your confusion is gone. Your desire is to be in the Slytherin but I still sense a miniscule amount of regret and hesitation... why I wonder. Why indeed," the Sorting Hat whispered. Severus's anger rose and used occlumency to block the hateable, invasive hat; he wouldn't sit still while having anyone or anything penetrating his mind. Then the hat laughed out loud and everyone stared at him. "Professor Snape, you are extremely talanted with occlumency without a doubt but my sole purpose is to invade witch's and wizard's mind and heart, no magic exists to stop me from entering. I now know the reason behind your hesitation, it's that brown, curly haired girl standing down there." His blood pulse quickened and his chest rose higher as anger fueled him, if the fucking hat uttered anything else, he would incinerate the thing. "No need to burn me to a crisp, I'm just doing my job and now I'll let you go Severus _Black_." Without a second later the hat finally cried out, "SLYTHERIN!" He shot a dangerous glare before he slammed the hat onto the stool. As he descended from the stairs, Minerva gave him a surprised, curious look.

He joined the Slytherin's table and the other students were smirking at him. A tall, brutish boy greeted him, "Congratulations in joining the greatest house in Hogwarts, I'm the prefect and look at you, you are emitting quite an extraordinary, dangerous vibe. We are all brothers and sisters here in this house and from the looks of it, you'll make a fine Slytherin." He sat next to the other students and gulped down pumpkin juice. Damn, he forgot that students only got pumpkin juice while the staff were drinking fine, elvish wine; and that's what he exactly needed right now to quell his temper. Minvera continued along the list and by the time she reached the letter 'F', he had calmed down. He was stabbing a piece of meat on his plate while staring at Hermione who was eagerly waiting for her name to be called. He carefully thought of what the Sorting Hat said who read his mind and heart. The hat commented that deep inside him, he was hesitating because of that young witch. It had to be just because of his mission, nothing more. That's all the irritating piece of cloth saw, there were no other hidden meaning behind it. He chewed on the the food on his plate and Minerva finally reached Hermione's last name.

He recognized the student who started a conversation with him, it was Adrian Pucey, a Chaser in the Slyhterin Quidditch team. Adrian said, "You've been gawking at that girl for a while now and you were standing next to her while you came in too. Is she your girlfriend or something?" Severus choked on whatever he was swallowing and stared at the teen. Hermione Granger, his girlfriend? Where did that nonsense come from now? He answered the absurd question, "No way," at the same time the Sorting Hat bellowed out her house, "Gryffindor!" Severus focused on her and felt his chest tighten. Why in Merlin's ass was his chest tightening now, was it thanks to what the Sorting Hat said earlier? He felt dismayed by her sorting, he already knew that Granger belonged in the Gryffindor House so why was this information hurting him now. Adrian's smile faded at her house's name and captured Severus's attention back, "Good thing I didn't call her pretty and that she's not your girlfriend, she belongs in that sickening House. I'll tell you and the rest of you freshmen, Gryffindor is our number one enemy in Hogwarts. We are their rival in Quidditch, points, and everything so don't ever lose to the likes of them." Cheers from the older students erupted for Slytherin's glory against Gryffindor. Severus lost his appeite and silently stared at Hermione who sitting happily next to Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.

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**Please review this chapter and the next chapter is dedicated to Hermoine's birthday as promised so please look foward and thanks to all the review, follows, etc. Much appreciated as all of my readers brightens my day! Continue to follow along the fanfic, cheers.**


	3. Happy Birthday Hermione

**Time Phase Chapter 3: Happy Birthday Hermione**

**Author's Note: I disclaim all things related to HP as it rightfully belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**Wow, increase in followers! Thanks for following and I hope the reviews increase as well! Rather you believe it or not, it really does motivate me to write more and to type faster. By the way, thanks for all the considerate private messages, really lifted my spirit. Now I will shut up and give you what you've been waiting for. Oh and thanks for reading, all of you readers are fantastic! **

**Wait I lied, I forgot something extremely important! Lately my young nieces has been visiting me but last evening I was far too exhausted to run around and play with them. Horrible idea for me to take a nap; they had the inventive idea to put manicure (is that how I even spell the damn thing?) on my fingernails. That's a big fat issue for me because I've got an important meeting tomorrow and I don't plan to go to work with hot pink nails. This is a man's nightmare. Honestly if it was on a weekend when I don't have a meeting or whatever, I'd be totally fine with it but that's not the case today... I've got no product to wipe them off, does anyone know of any other solution to get them off?! HELP...**

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Severus was exiting Transfiguartion class with the Slytherin and Hufflepuff students. Both parties equally complained and grumbled about the subject. All of Severus's courses were easy for him; a mere child-play. Unlike the other students he had spare time since he completed all the given work in class with no effort. He had nothing to do so he began to roam around the corridors.

Young Draco Malfoy approached him, "Severus, did you understand a word that lousy Professor McGonagall said?" Snape knew that his godson had quite the temper when he didn't comprehend something; it was frustrating for Draco and Severus could relate to that. Severus kept his mouth sealed since he knew that his godson wouldn't be listening to a word he said in this state, it was best to let the blond boy curse and spout nonsense. "You clearly understood what that witch was saying, you managed to transfigure a piece of pebble into a button. I swear, why didn't she give us Slytherin any points, I mean you were the only student who managed to do it. She biased because she's the Gryffinor while we are Slytherins," complained Draco._No,_ _it's most likely because I am a professor here and she knows it. _Severus honestly give a damn about points while the other students did. He walked along with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle down the hallway for a bit until he changed his direction.

Malfoy called out to Severus, "Aren't you coming with us to the common room?"

"I'm going for a walk before I return back," he explained.

"Try to come back before the sun sets, before the damn squib and his ugly cat starts their night patrol," Malfoy warned. Severus heard his godson tow the other two chunky, slow boys back to the Slytherin common room. It was quite relaxing to be able to walk around without the burden and stress about marking tests and quizzes and preparing for his usually potion's class. He enjoyed the soft breeze that swept the vivid leaves and scattered the dust outside. He stood by the window and gazed outside in peace but he didn't get to enjoy his solitude for long. Suddenly someone rammed themself onto his back. Whoever it was, they had their arms over his shoulders and their tiny hands clamped over his chest. He held his tongue before he accidentally said, "20 points from," whatever the student's house was.

The assailant's hands were small, soft, and delicate, it had to belong to girl. He sniffed the air; a sweet, flowery, and undoubtedly a feminine scent, definitely a girl. He recognized the giggle coming out of the girl's lips and saw her uncontrollable, curly, brown hair that gently flowed past his shoulder; Hermione Granger. He took a deep sigh before he removed her arms off of him; he didn't like anyone touching him. He turned around to find out that his assumption was correct, in front of him stood Hermione. He looked down at the obnoxious girl and crossed his arms to his chest.

"Did I surprise you Sev?" she asked with a silly grin plastered on her face.

He shot an annoyed glare at her. "Quit frowning Sev," she smiled.

"What do you want?" he asked impatiently.

"Follow me and you'll see," she ran down the corridor. Normally he would have remained rooted to the ground and ignore the matter but thanks to Dumbledore's order, he had no choice but to run after the damn girl. _Where is she taking me? _Hermione led them to a secluded, grassy area. He didn't notice any other students and it was quiet; he immediately liked the place. Among the small field, there was a potion set and next to it, there was an open potion book. Hermione lied on her stomach next to her belongings, he curiously sat next to her. He cocked his head, _what in Merlin's beard was she planning? _

Hermione was twisting a grass blade between her digits, looking for the right words to say. Severus was sitting next to her but he was watching the clouds drift along the broad, blue sky. "You are wearing only black again," she mumbled. His eyebrow arched and he focused on Hermione, "You brought me here to insult my fashion sense?"

"No, I just had a small request for you, Sev," she whispered shyly. Creases formed on his forehead as he frowned, "You need help with your potion homework?" He eyed the potion set. "No, not at all! I'd never ask that to anyone," she quickly defended her pride. "Then what is it?" he asked. "Um... today is my birthday actually..." she slowly informed him. _So what in God's name are you asking from me? _Severus stared at the girl, he didn't know what to do or say. "Um... Happy Birthday?" he hesitantly said the words he never uttered those words before in his life. 'Happy Birthday.' He didn't know what it meant since no one ever congratulated him for his birth. He slid his pale hands into the cloak pockets uncomfortably. Hermione looked up to see her friend looking away. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, you never got to celebrate your birthday with your parents have you, since.. um... they are dead," she lowered her head.

The witch was half correct."Well I obviously did have my birthdays while my parents were alive," _long time ago_, "but we never celebrated anyone's birthdays." Severus lied down on his back next to Granger as he recalled his past. Yes, when he was an actual child, he never stayed at home. It was a disastrous environment at 'home'. His abusive, filthy muggle father and his broken mother. He only heard his mother utter, 'Happy Birthday Severus," when he was 4 years old but even then his mother didn't radiate with happiness; her dry, faded hair were tangled and knotted dropping down to frame her shallow face. His mother, Eileen Prince Snape, was never happy, she neglected her health along with his. That was the only significant memory of his birthday. As a child, he envied other muggle children playing with their families. He once tried going to the playgrounds but there he didn't find any happiness. He felt hollow there while he watched other children play with each other and their parents playing and calling each of their child's names. Neither his mother or father took him anywhere, hell he didn't want to be near his father. So he went to an empty field, where he met Lily Evans. That was the only fun times he could recall from his childhood. So no, he didn't know the meaning of 'Happy Birthday', and he never said it before either.

"Don't mind it Hermione," he whispered; his eyes had sunken into a darker shade as he remembered his childhood. He wanted to mean what he said earlier since he knew the significance of those 2 words for children. "But really, Happy Birthday," he smiled a crooked smile. He could feel the tips of his ears redden as she warmly returned a smile. "Wouldn't you be rather be celebrating such a day with Potter and Weasley and the rest of the Gryffindors," he asked quizzically. She played with her cloak as she said, "I don't think they consider me as a friend yet and I'd rather be celebrating my birthday with you, Sev. You are my first friend right?" He deeply digested the meaning of those words. _Friend... _He didn't have numerous amount of friends and earlier he simply casted the meaning of the friend aside. He gazed into her creamy, brown eyes. _Could I possibly be a good friend towards her? _He found his answer, "Yeah, we are friends." Watching Granger reminded of someone else; Lily Evans. Long ago, she had asked him the same question and now it was Hermione Granger who repeated the question. This time, he would be a sincere friend. He sat up and clinked his finger to the potion set.

"So what's this for?" he asked. "I wanted to try brewing a potion with the ingredients you gave me couple of days ago," Hermione sat next to him with glowing eyes. He respected and enjoyed watching her being enthusiastic about potions. "So what do you want to brew?" he asked. She pointed at the page in her book, 'Wiggenweld Potion'. He was surprised, that was an advanced potion for a first year to brew. Long ago he tried teaching it to his students and they burned and blew up his class and he decided to never teach the potion in his class again. He grimmly stared at the paper and sighed before he brought the ingredients out for them to brew.

Hermione carefully read the instructions:

1. Add salamander blood until the potion turns red.

2. Stir until the potion turns orange.

3. Add more salamander blood, this time until it turns yellow.

4. Stir until the potion turns green.

5. Add more salamander blood, until the potion turns turquoise.

6. Heat until it turns indigo.

7. Add more salamander blood until the potion turns pink.

8. Heat until the potion turns red.

9. Add five lionfish spines.

10. Heat until the potion turns yellow.

11. Add five more lionfish spines.

12. Add flobberworm mucus, until the potion turns purple.

13. Stir until it turns red.

14. Add more flobberworm mucus, this time until it turns orange.

15. Stir till it turns yellow.

16. Shake and add until it turns orange again.

17. Add honeywater until it turns turquoise.

18. Heat until it turns pink.

19. Add salamander blood until it turns green.

While she was reading, Severus turned on the fire under the tiny cauldron. Hermione added in the salamander blood into the cauldron and waited for it to turn red. Once it began to change its colour, she started to stir the solution clockwise. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Start turning it the other way." "Does it make any difference?" she asked. "Every difference now stir faster before it blows," he hissed. They continued on and while doing so Severus instructed her how to brew the potion perfectly. They finally reached the 15th step, she now knew that she had to change the directioin while stirring moderately for the nice hue to come out. Severus was quite proud to watch her absorb the information quickly; she was a fast learner. He placed his hand over hers while she was turning. She looked up at him with a surprised expression. "Stupid, look at the potion, not me," he smirked. She did as she was told and had a great difficulty focusing to what he was saying. He flicked his finger on her forehead, "Listen to me, you want to turn it at this speed for all potions; that way the potion doesn't get burnt or lump up into a sticky blob." She nodded and made a mental note.

They successfully made the Wiggenweld Potion and they both smiled at their achievement. Severus for making a new friend, teaching Hermione how to brew a potion, and to watch her grin so merrily. Hermione carefully poured the content in a glass container. He suddenly felt guilty, most children wanted birthday gifts right? He had nothing to give his new friend. He could stop himself apologize, "Sorry." Hermione popped her head up and tilted her head, "For what?" "Although it's your birthday, I've got nothing to give you for your birthday..." he hoarsely replied. "What are you talking about Sev? You've just made this day my best birthday, no one of my best days ever!" she honestly expressed her thought. He stood up and kicked the grass lightly, he still didn't feel satisfied. He walked about and picked up a small orange leaf. He firmly pressed his hands onto the leaf and expelled a moderate amount of his magic ability. He carefully opened his hands and smiled at the bronzed leaf. Then he picked up a long, flexible piece of stick and transfigured it into a thick, durable, black string. He clasped the metallic leaf onto the leather string and smiled. He approached the witch who was cleaning up after her potion set. He bent his back and whispered in her ears, "Close your eyes for me." He could feel her untamable strand of hair prickle his cheek and watch her cheeks turn into a pink shade. She did as she was told and he tied his hand-made present around her neck. The bronze leaf rested between her collarbone. She slowly opened her eyes and saw his gift. He could feel a warm sensation wash over his chest as he watched Hermione give a small, warm smile while she touched the leaf. He could hear the blood pound in his ears, he has never done such a thing in his entire life. He rubbed his nape nervously; he didn't know if a girl around her age would like it.

He lost his balance and landed on his arse with a thud. He went rigid as Hermione hugged him tightly; she was kneeling between his legs while embracing him. _What the hell just happened._ His brain might as well have broken down; he couldn't digest what was happening. He remained frozen but he felt warm tears dripping on his shoulder. _Tears? Why was she crying? _Her tears drowned him in more confusion. _Granger, why must you always do the unexpected and drag me into situations that I've never faced before? _

Truthfully, Severus had a talent in making girls and women cry; he was a long history of making women cry. During his childhood, he was too rough or quick-tempered and made girls cry, including his friend, Lily Evans. For women, while he was climbing up the hierarchy in the Dark Lord's notorious group, he bedded several women just to gain reputation. They were all meaningless relationships, no they weren't even valid to be acknowledged as relationships; they were a one night fling. Obviously most women believed that he was interested in them and when he didn't reply back to their owl-sent messages, they would apparate to his room. Then they would argue with him when he wasn't even listening to them. In the end, he would make them tumble-down dramatically to the floor and weep. They served their purpose and that was the only kind of 'relationship' or link to the opposite sex. So yes, he was a cruel bastard in the past who made girl and women alike cry. He could make them cry but he has never consoled them or know what to do when a girl or woman cried. Right now, he wanted to do something to make Hermione stop crying, _but what in Merlin's damn fat arse am I supposed to do. _

He shoved the witch off of him and stared into her eyes, he had to know why she was crying if he had any chance of fixing the problem. He was surprised to see her smiling and crying simultaneously. "What in God's name are you doing? Are you crying or smiling?" he wondered out loud. The girl giggled in front of him, "Both." _Great, now she's crying and laughing at the same time. _He sighed, _I'll never understand this girl. _He heaved a sigh waiting for the explanation behind her incomprehensible behaviour. "I'm crying because I'm so happy, Sev," she smiled. "You are crying because you are so happy," he repeated in disbelief. He's never seen anyone cry from being way too happy and it simply made no sense to him. He frowned in shame from getting overwhelmed by her tears. "Don't cry for such weird reasons," he growled in frustration. "Weird? What's so bad about crying when you are happy?" Hermione asked innocently. _Because watching you cry is going to make my fucking heart stop from getting worried. _He huffed in frustration by her question, there was no way that he was going to answer it; it was far too embarrassing and humiliating. He turned his back on her as he felt blood pulsing in his ears from being embarrassed.

Soon he felt warmth on his back, she was hugging him again. He brushed her away; today there were too much physical contact between him and Hermione. "But Severus, I am really grateful. If you weren't around, I'd feel quite lonely today," she explained. He turned his head to see her. _Lonely? _"I haven't said this before but coming to Hogwarts was the first time I've been away from home, I mean without my family. I really do miss them, my parents. Every year my parents and I would celebrate my birthday by going out for dinner at my favourite restaurant and at home we'd cut the cake. My mum always baked the cake, I tried baking it once with her and it turned into a big disaster. That year we had to buy one because I ruined the batter and burnt the cake," she laughed while recalling her past. He silently listened to her memory and relaxed as it was a soothing story. Hermione continued, "My dad would rent a video tape and we'd watch it together but when it was on a school night, I'd have to go to sleep before the movie ended. This year, it's my first time not having my mum and dad celebrate it with me. I didn't expect anyone to congratulate me for my birthday or receive any gift today. I honestly didn't think I could make any friends here since I never had one in the muggle world for being 'different'. Yet shockingly enough, I did make my first friend and you told me happy birthday. You even made me a beautiful present. Today was really special for me because of you so I'm happier than ever."

Severus didn't know what to say to her after that but he did appreciate her conveying her memories and feelings. He didn't know that he could make such a difference. He didn't know what made him do it, but he gently patted her head while smiling, "Happy birthday Hermione, thanks for being born and becoming my friend." Hermione finished cleaning up so he and Hermione walked back inside before their curfew came to an end. She bade him good night and went her way back to the Gryffindor common room. He slowly made his way back to the Slytherin common room.

As he turning to the next corridor, he heard an irritable voice, "Student out of curfew!" Filch tugged at his shoulder and forced Snape to face his ugly face. At first, the unfortunate Filch didn't recognize who the long, onyx haired teen who was glaring daggers at him. Severus straightened his back and let out a dangerous, snarl, "You squib, exactly who do you think you are grabbing onto?" Filch stared at him with confusion before he finally realized who the 'student' was and the squib's face immediately turned ghostly pale. "Professor Snape, I am terribly sorry, I thought you were a student sneaking around the hallway," he explained quickly while bowing his head mostly in fear than being apologetic. Severus whipped his shoulder out of Filch's clutch and sneered at the cowardly man. The squib didn't dare to look up and Severus looked down on him for a while before he marched away back to the Slytherin common room.

When he entered the Slytherin boy's dorm, he was greeted by the Slytherin boys. While he was removing his shirt, his godson approached him, "Where were you? You got some guts Severus, we were all worried you'd get caught by the filthy squib." Severus snorted, "What would that useless squib possibly do to me?" The Slytherin boys laughed and agreed with him. Severus was definitely not in good terms with Filch; in the past the worthless man destroyed the dungeon while trying to perform magic. Squibs should never try to do music as they were forcing their body to produce magic; it always resulted with destructive explosions. Malfoy attempted to get help from Severus but he ignored his godson as he climbed into his bed. He stared at the silver, old ceiling. Today was full of unexpected events and he accepted Hermione Granger as his friend. He believed that this mission would be a pain in the arse; he didn't believe he could be on any friendly relationship with the obnoxious girl but lately he was seeing her differently. _Maybe this mission won't be too bad or difficult. _He closed his eyes as he stretched on the bed and soon he fell asleep.

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**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, as it was a special chapter to celebrate Granger's birthday! Oh and thanks for the tips on how to get rid of the manicure, big help. Please don't forget to review and look foward to the next chapter. I hope you continue following this story! Cheers. :) **


	4. Slytherin's New Quidditch Seeker

**Time Phase Chpater 4: The New Slytherin Quidditch Seeker **

**Author's Note: I disclaim owning Harry Potter characters, etc as I'm not the brilliant inventer of Harry Potter. **

**Weekend is coming up in 2 more days; so close yet so far *sigh*. I was planning to publish this chapter on the weekend but I said, what the hell, why don't I just post this up. So here you are, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the reviews, follow and all the follows, it plasters a smile on my face; except when my Ipod wakes me up with an annoying beep at 3:27AM. **

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Autumn has definitely settled in as the temperature each day became chillier but the weather didn't help cool down the excitement in the school. Quidditch season was settling in, in other words flying class was officially starting. The Slytherin and the Gryffindor students were buzzing with excitement, especially the boys with the exception for Severus. He stood in the mob of students being shoved and teenagers shouting about; something that didn't suit him in the least. He swore under his breath, he'd been flying for several years so it didn't matter to him rather the flying lesson was starting or not.

Rolanda Hooch, the flying professor briskly walked onto the field and blew in her whistle which caught everyone's attention. All the students lined up and Draco stood next to him. Hooch walked passing everyone but came to a stop when she saw Severus. He stared at the witch and she gave him a knowing smile. Then she began shouting, "Okay, in my class there won't be any foolishness as flying may be fun but you can get injured before you can utter the word, Quidditch. Today we'll be starting with simply warm ups to evaluate each of your level." Malfoy confidently whispered to him and the rest of the boys, "This should be nothing. I've flown with my father for a while, I'll earn our House points." Hooch barked out, "So everybody stand next to a broom."

The students eagerly lined up next to their broomstick. The Slytherins stood in a long row while the Gryffindors stood facing them on the other side. In front of him stood Hermione and she mouthed him a 'I'm so nervous.' He sniggered and gave her a reassuring look. He stared at the youngest Weasley boy and Potter who stood next to Hermione. Hooch instructed the students to stretch out their arms out and give a sharp order of 'up'. He yawned as he waited his turn; Rolanda was checking each pair of Slytherin and Gryffindor. It was Malfoy and Harry's turn to make the broom rise to their hands. Malfoy gave a clear, arrogant command, "Up," and as Severus expected, the broom rested in his hands. Draco gave a proud smile to his classmates but his smile faded as Madam Hooch didn't seem to be amazed by his achievement. Now it was Harry's turn to give it a go, Harry cluelessly said, "up," like the other students have and the broom smacked into his hands immediately. The messy haired boy looked surprised by his success. _So not only does Potter resemble James in looks but from the looks of it, the boy shares his father's talent. _Hermione beamed a smile and congratulated her friend. Severus couldn't help but snort at the sight,_ my godson and the other students can do it so what's so special about bloody Potter? If she thinks that's impressive, that girl has lots to learn. _Rolanda turned to Severus and he gave her a sneer before he whipped his lean arm out and he non-verbally levitated the broom to his hands. All the students were awed by his skill and the Slytherins cheered. Rolanda wasn't shocked as most adult wizards and witches could do this easily but she gave him a confused stare as she knew that her colleague didn't like attention.

Hooch was about to give her attention to Hermione until Malfoy argued, "Madam Hooch, if I may, but shouldn't we Slytherins get any points? I don't think any one here can do what Severus has done." He glared at his godson, _I didn't do it gain any points, I did it because I didn't like how amazed Granger was with Potter. _Rolanda stared at him; she had to give him points as Draco had pointed out, no other first years could possibly do what Severus has done. She didn't want to since it wasn't such a grand achievement, despite Severus's youthful appearance he was an adult wizard. She forced a smile and said, "15 points to Slytherin." The Slytherins clapped while the Gryffindor bared sour looks. He peeked at Hermione, _was she like the other Gryffindors? _She was giving him a smile just like the way she smiled for Potter, she mouthed him, "That was amazing, Sev." Rolanda Hooch returned her attention to Hermione and he too kept his eyes on her. She nervously stretched her arm and gave a feeble implored the broom, "Up." The broom merely lazily rolled on the ground and her face reddened slightly. "Give it another try, Ms. Granger," Hooch soothingly prodded her to give another try. Hermione looked up at Severus and he gave her an awkward crooked smile. "Up," she said with more confidence, but the broom still lazily rolled over. He watched Hermione ball up her tiny hands into a tight fist in frustration and heard a muffled laugh. He glared to see where the laugh came from and realized that it was his godson. He let out a dangerous hiss at clicked his tongue at Malfoy. Draco looked confused to see his friend looking greatly displeased, no that was too weak to describe Severus's face. He looked pissed and he was glaring at Draco. The blond boy gave a small shrug and looked away from Severus. The youngest Weasley slightly did better than Granger, although it took Ron 4 attempts to make his broom rise off the ground. The rest of the students did the simple command and next, they were to start flying.

Strangely enough, Hooch grouped the Slytherins and Gryffindors together. His group had Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger; the worst group possible. They were to practice flying before Hooch checked on their flying skills. Draco decided to go up first and Rolanda came to check on their group. When Draco landed Rolanda said, "Mr. Malfoy you did a great job flying but the way you are holding the broom is incorrect." Severus could see Draco's face redden with embarrassment and the moment Hooch left, Ronald began to guffaw loudly. He was irritated about his godson's behaviour earlier but he wouldn't stand to have a Weasley mock his godson. "Do you think that's so funny do you, Weasley?" He looked down on the redhead who started to back step as Severus approached him. "At least Malfoy can fly. I know your brothers can fly but from what we saw earlier you clearly can't fly. So you must be the worst flyer among your siblings and you dare to laugh to Draco," he sneered. He couldn't stand the arrogant Gryffindors. The redhead's face turned scarlet and he began to argue back, "Just because you can non-verbally make your broom rise doesn't mean you can fly! If you're so confident why don't you try flying. Go on!" He couldn't believe he was arguing with a teenage boy but he wouldn't back down from any challenge as a proud Slytherin. At the same time, they heard a scream and they all tuned their head around to see Longbottom rising higher and higher on a broomstick. _Longbottom... he really lacks talent doesn't he. The boy used to blow my classroom and today I discover that he can't fly properly. _Then he realized that it wasn't the boy who was controlling the broom, the broom was hexed and his eyes met Rolanda's; she realized it too. The boy screamed and hollered for help in the sky. The broom started to buck Longbottom off like a mad horse would and Longbottom was thrown off the broom. Fortunately enough the boy was caught by a statue which slowed down his fall and he landed with a hard thud.

Everyone started to crowd around the boy but he remained still. _That broom was hexed for a student to ride. _He glanced at Potter. _Harry bloody Potter is__ already being targeted. Quirrell, that bastard is already on the move. I need to investigate that broom later... _"Give the boy some room!" hollered Hooch. He eyed the crowd and Hooch was carrying Mr. Longbottom. "I'm going to take Mr. Longbottom to see Madam Pomfrey, nobody better be flying when I come back. Who ever is caught doing so will be expelled before they can say Quidditch," she barked. She eyed Severus, "Mr. Black will be in charge." She glided across the field while carry a limp Longbottom.

"Look at what he left behind," his godson picked up the remembrall that was nestled on the soft patch of grass. "Maybe I'll put it up on top of the tower for Longbottom to find," he laughed with the other Slytherin boys. _Why must my godson be so damn mischievous? _Harry pushed himself out of the crowd, "Give it back Malfoy." _And why must bloody Harry Potter always act as the hero of the day? _He glowered at the boys; _why must all teenagers be so fucking dramatic? _Malfoy strutted forward to sneer in Potter's face, "Make me, that is if you can." Malfoy quickly got on his broom and flew up while tossing the remembrall up and down in his palm. The hot headed boy grabbed a broom for himself. Severus watched Hermione grab Harry's arm and warm him, "You've heard Professor Hooch, you'll get expelled if you get caught." Ron snickered, "Yeah that's if he gets caught." Harry wrenched his arm out of her grip and rose into the air. _Bloody damn, stupid, ignorant_ brats! _I bet that all these children got a one digit IQ.__ You just saw Neville Longbottom almost die while falling off the hexed broom! _He let out a growl and grabbed a broom. He mounted the broomstick and was about kick off the ground until he too was stopped, "Sev, please don't do the same things they are doing." He met Hermione in the eyes and in a dangerous, low tone, he muttered, "I don't know if there are more brooms that's been tempered with and I'm definitely not going to take a chance at letting those brats fly another second. While I'm around, I'm not going to have either Draco or Harry crack their thick skulls open all due to their poor judgement skills." He kicked off the ground and he could swear that he heard the witch whisper, "Boys, why don't they ever listen?"

As he was nearing to where the two idiotic boys were, he could hear them bickering. Malfoy saw Severus flying towards them and Draco shouted, "Hey Severus watch Potter do 'fetch'!" _What the hell is he saying? _He didn't have time to ask his godson to repeat what he said but to his surprise his godson threw the remembrall to the other direction as hard as he could. He noticed Harry immediately chase after the bloody thing. _I've had enough of this idiotic play. I'll catch that bloody damn thing to get that retarded Gryffindor back down. _Severus flew past Draco who got startled by his speed. He was getting closer to Potter as he quickened his speed, he shouted, "Potter get back down!" "No! I need to catch that, it's Neville's! It'll shatter if I don't catch it," Potter retorted. **_Let the fucking thing shatter! You are a fricking target and I don't know what Quirrell tempered with!_ **He performed a sharp manuvuer downwards while chasing Potter. _Fine, you want that damn remembrall secured? Fine. _He passed Harry and caught the falling remembrall. He immediately came to a stop as he caught it and turned around to stop Potter. The boy who never practiced flying in his life obviously couldn't come to an abrupt stop as Severus did so Harry slammed into Severus. Fortunately they were near the ground so they didn't injure themselves as they landed on their arse.

Severus wore a furious expression as he grabbed Potter by his collar. He didn't know what to start with and thank the gods that he was around to stop Potter. His chest rose up and down and his nose flared. _Was the boy always suicidal? Even in the future you create nothing but trouble. _He didn't get to holler at the ignorant boy but he did hear someone screaming. To be exact, it was Minerva McGonagall screaming and she was running towards them with the other students. Minerva arrived before the other students and she wore the same expression that Severus had plastered on his face, "You! You! You could have broken your neck- but that dive! Thank the heavens that you were around Severus. And you, Potter, you are coming with me!" Severus watched Minerva drag Harry by his sleeves and the Slytherins were laughing and surrounding him. "That was amazing! You are an astounding flyer, maybe you can even join our Quidditch team," the children were shouting and heaping him with praise. He ignored them and continued watching Harry's small figure disappear into the castle. He could feel the headache settling in and he shoved his way out of the crowd and stormed back indoors.

He let out a hiss of anger once he was inside and marched along the hallway. _I hate stupid brats._ He shook his head in frustration by Harry's irrational behaviour and he heard someone running after him. He turned around to see who it was and it was to his surprise, Granger. He expected her and the Weasley boy to chase after Potter but there she was running after him. She came to a halt and her hair was messier than he's ever seen her. He crossed his arm to his chest, "Why did you follow after me?" The girl regained her breath and she was glaring at him. _Why's she glaring at me for? _"I'm so annoyed with Harry," she vented. He raised his eyebrow and agreed with her statement, "You aren't the only one. I'm quite irritated by Potter and Malfoy." "And I'm angry with you," she shouted in his face. "What are you so moody about," he snapped. "Don't you get it," she shouted once more as she walked ahead. He followed after her, "Don't make me play mind games, I already have a headache as it is." "I was worried about you and Harry!" Hermione glared at him and he felt his shoulders relax slightly. _"_Worried," he echoed the word. _What's there to be worried about? _It felt strange for anyone to be worried about him, the thought never crossed his mind. "Just like Professor McGonagall said, you could have snapped your neck or sometihing." He didn't know what to say and it felt weird, abnormal. He didn't know how to describe what he was feeling... guilt maybe? He couldn't figure it out; he squeezed the bridge of his nose and slowly looked at Hermione, "Sorry," he whispered. Saying that one word felt weird, he hasn't said that word in a very long time. _When was the last time, I apologized? __Right, it was Lily, when I called her a mudblood. _He cringed at the memory ; he loathed that memory.

He caught up next to Hermone and walked beside her. "Just don't make me worry so much," she muttered as she stared at her feet. He blinked, _that's what I wished to say to you and the rest of your Golden Trio for such a long time. Those are my line. _They walked in silence until Hermione broke the silence, "But you were amazing today, you even beat Harry in speed when Harry got a head start." He kept his eyes forward and listened to whatever she was saying without showing any emotions. Inside, he felt a tiny bit happy. "Sev, you know you are a big mystery," she continued, "you surpassed all of us in potions and flying. You've got a lot of hidden talents and you know I've heard other students talk about you." He looked down at her by the corner of his eyes. "They say, you are a genius or something, you exceed in all classes. You are a formidable rival," she smiled. _Rival? _He frowned, "I don't want to be your rival." Hermione stared at him and cocked her head with curiosity. "I don't want to compete with you, I just want to be your friend. We are friends right," this time he asked the question. "Of course we are and we always will be," she grinned. He smiled in relief, _looks like she's okay about us being friends and not rivals. _

Then they heard low rumbles and noticed a small pebble jumping up and down by the tremor. They came to a halt and turned around to see a mob of older Slytherins running towards them. Severus grimly stared at the students rushing towards them, it couldn't be a good sign for him. "Black! Black!" the students shouted. He released a long sigh, _today's so irritating. _He straightened his back and glared at the senior students who surrounded him and Hermione. He recognized the tall, brooding, teenage boy, it was Marcus Flint; he always hated the four odour of sweat the boy possessed. "Today's your lucky day. A lot of us saw you from the Defence Against the Dark Arts class while you were flying outside. You've got raw talant to be our new Seeker," Marcus grabbed his wrist. _Impudent brat, how dare you touch me. _He violently ripped his arm out of the Slytherin captain's firm grip and bared his teeth at his students. He let out a hiss and a deadly glint shined in his black eyes. Laughter erupted from the Slytherin's Quidditch team and Miles Bletchley grinned, "looks like this boy is perfect for our team, he's got the true spirit of a Slytherin. He's got to have some strength since he managed to get out of your grip, Marcus. But then again, I bet you were loosely holding onto Black, otherwise we need our captain to go work out more." The team laughed again and Marcus jokingly punched his friend by the temple. Severus continued to sneer at them and he turned rigid as he heard Granger speaking, "Sev, you'd make a great asset to the team. They are right you've got talent to be on the team and you'd be the youngest Seeker in a century." _Shut up, Granger. _He glared at the witch as she caught the Slytherin's attention.

"Look, even your girlfriend agrees with us. She's got good eyes," Marcus wrapped his arm around his neck. He tossed the gorilla's arm aside, "She's not my girlfriend." Severus could hear Adrian Pucey whisper to Marcus, "She's a Gryffindor, Marcus." The rest of the other Slytherin students' attitude immediately changed at her House's name. Marcus began to intimidate Hermione as he invaded her personal space and lowered his face to glare at her in the face, "What's a Gryffindor doing around a Slytherin." Severus let out a low growl and shoved the teen backwards, "She's with me, she's my friend." All the Slytherin students stood surprised to find the student they wanted to recruit was a friend of a Gryffindor. A Slytherin treated another Slytherin with respect, Severus knew that. They wouldn't blatantly insult or disrespect her in front of him. Their eyes were still cold as they looked down on her, "We suppose she's not too bad since she acknowledges that we, Slytherins are superior and gifted." _Arrogant, immature, cheeky brats. _"Anyways, Severus, come with us," they called him over as they walked away. He looked back at Granger and he grinded his teeth; he could tell that she was upset. "Sorry about them," he repeated that word for the second time in the day. She gave him a sad smile as if to say, 'I understand'. She opened her thinned lips, "You should go with them Sev, I meant what I said. You'd be an amazing Seeker." He didn't want to leave her but he heard the team snap, "Let's go Black!" She gave another feeble smile and gave him a slight shove from the back and he hesitantly left her in the corridor.

He glided across the hallway with an angry expression. Miles said, "Black, you shouldn't hang out with a Gryffindor. On our team we've got two primary goals; one is to win the Quidditch Cup and the other one is to annailate the Gryffindors." _Don't tell me what to do. _"I never said I would join the team. If you are looking for a Seeker, take Draco Malfoy, he's an excellent flyer," he snapped. Marcus said with a bored face, "I saw the boy as well, he's got potential but he's not at our level yet. Between you two, anyone would notice that you are the better choice. We even noticed the other Gryffindor boy, I hate to admit it but he also had talent." "You mean Harry Potter," Severus asked. "Yeah, and I've heard earlier that Wood is taking that boy under his wing as the Gryffindor's new seeker. We, Slytherins won't lose to the likes of them. You are going to be our prodigal, Slytherin Seeker," explained Adrian. "Not only that our first game is against the Gryffindors and it's coming up soon," interrupted Marcus. _The first game... if I remember correctly, Harry got attacked in that game by Quirrell. _He let out a hiss in anger. He could protect Potter from the crowd of students, he had no intention of joining the Slytherin team. "I still refuse," he said with a firm voice while glaring at his seniors. They let out a sigh, "Looks like you are going to be difficult with us, Black." Suddenly four of the students grabbed onto his two arms and dragged him towards to God knows where. He fought back. _Shit, why do I have to be tiny and weak at a time like this? If I had my adult body, I could fight back with no problem. _He struggled until he realized that they were dragging him towards the dungeon.

At once, he could hear the air particles crackle and snap. _Why can't the other boys tell? Am I the only one who can hear it?_ He gritted his teeth not to show the pain he was beginning to feel. His body was scorching in heat, it felt like someone was ramming an iron hammer against his skull repeatedly. He shut his eyes to block out the pain as he felt as if someone was tearing his head off. Severus's breathing turned ragged and he finally opened his eyes; to his horror the boys successfully dragged him in front of his classroom. _Fuck. _

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please don't forget to review! Thanks for reading and the increase in followers; it's an honour to have you following my story along. Thanks a lot. Wait until you hear the next beep from your email account for the next chapter! Cheers! :)**


	5. Confrontation of Severus Snapes

**Time Phase Chapter 5: Confrontation of Two Severus Snapes**

**Author's Note: Disclaimer of Harry Potter characters, etc as they rightfully belong to the the amazing British woman who created us the wonderful world of Harry during my childhood, J.K. Rowling. **

**Warning, this chapter may be confusing for some readers so PLEASE READ THIS NOW! Snape = present, adult Snape while Severus= future, student Snape! Got it? You better or you'll be so confused by the end of the chapter. As for thoughts, they are represented by ****_italics, like this._**** The sentences that are bold and in italics are the student Snape's thoughts while the normal italics belongs to the adult, Professor Snape. **

**Cheers to the entrance of the adult Severus Snape! Do follow along and relish the new chapter!**

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The air particles were crackling and pulsing with electricity; Snape could feel the sharp electric shocks stinging his bare skin. He was feeling more nauseous than ever, far worse than apparating. The sensations were getting worse by the second and he felt as if his head was splittling into tiny fragments. He gritted his teethfirmly and pressed the palm of his hands on his temples. The sudden knocks were thunderous as the sound echoed and pounded the inside of his head. His long, black hair cascaded down and kept his vision limited. For some reason, he knew whatever or who ever was approaching was the cause of the pain. He glared at his classroom door. _I'm in no state to be seeing anyone right now. I swear on Merlin's fat, bloody arse that if a student enters that door, I'm going to rip 80 points off whichever House the student belongs in. If it's a staff, he or she better be ready to defend themself or they are going to crumple down to the blasted earth. _

He held back a groan as his ears twitched to the sound of the door scraping against the cold, cobble-stone floor. He was forced to bend his back as the agonizing pain intensified. He peeled his eyes open to see his arms; the skin remained pale but it felt as if they were being engulfed in scorching flame while a mystical, unknown force was violently yanking at his lean limbs out of their sockets. He silenced his ragged breath and attempted to see who dared to enter his dungeon. Several pairs of feet; there had to be a cluster of students. He hissed, "80 points from whichever House you brats are in." He felt a low growl coming from the depth of his chest as he controlled his strained, laborious breathing. "Professor Snape, it's us," boomed a husky, low voice. He knew that voice, it belonged to the brute, Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. "We've found a new seeker for the team, sir," Adrian Pucey announced the news as if it was supposed to make him happy. _God, is Quidditch all these brats think, eat, sleep, breathe, and dream about? It's nothing but a barbaric sport for attention-seeking, muscle-brained students. They are just as obsessive as the Weasley boys. **Fucking scums.**_Snape opened his eyes in shock, _who invaded my mind? _Snape recognized the voice, but whose was it? Then his black eyes widened, it was his voice! The voice he had before he hit puberty! The pain was ebbing away slowly and his mind grew clearer; the other voice in his head merged with his. _**It can't** be..._

Snape and Severus raised their heads slowly at the same time and their eyes met. They both looked as if they just got out of Azkaban. Snape started at his other self, _no doubt about it, it's me..._

_ **Hey sexy, it's me. I can hear your thoughts in my head, does that mean you can hear mine in yours?**_He stared at the long, black-haired teenager; the teenager looked awful but he had the same sneer that he had.

_Yes..._

The two of them couldn't hide their shock from their visage as they stood rigidly still and blinked at each other. Snape couldn't believe it, this had to be his other self who came from the future. _Holy shit, I look young. I look like a teenage boy._ He's heard stories about the teenager who was awkwardly standing in front of him from the other staff members. He blinked again. The both of them shared the exact crooked nose, the thick, greasy hair, and the intimidating glare. Snape compared himself to his youthful self; his future-self was shorter in height and his hair was short as he had it when he was young. The voice, his voice wasn't deep yet. He continued to examine his teenage-self and listened to Marcus introduce the teenager, "Professor Snape, this is Severus Black. He's a first year student in our house, but he's a prodigy of the century. He has the skills to be the best seeker in our Slytherin history! We need him to be our seeker. I know this isn't permitted but please let him be part of the team!" Marcus and the rest of the Slytherins gave a short bow in plea to have Severus join the Quidditch team.

What in God's blue Earth were these kids saying?

_ They want the future me, to be the seeker? _But there was something else that bothered him more than glared at Severus, _you named us after the damnable flea bag?! WHY?! **Look, I didn't do it on purpose. You and I are the same being so you know exactly how much I hate Black; actually its greater than yours because I existed longer than you despite my looks. **Why?__** I had an unexpected**_** situation...** _Utterly, unbelievable. __**Oh, shut up...**_

They glared at each other for a while. _Anyways, how is it that they didn't notice that we are the same person? **Who knows, I'm just glad for once for our students' great, almighty stupidity and their slow, dull brains. So you... we shouldn't complain. **Yes, I know that much. I know that we don't look exactly alike but we do share some of our physical features. We slightly resemble each other... _Severus stared at Snape, _**Well, you and I are the same person so it's to be expected. **_

Snape looked at the boys, "Leave us for now. I will talk to mister... Black about your request." The group of teenage boys grinned at each other while keeping their head down before they bade their professor, "Good night, sir." The Slytherin Quidditch team stared at Severus once more and said, "See you in dorm, Black," and closed the door shut. They both let out a sigh at the same time and they both eyed at each other. Who would have expected this to happen? They grimly stared at each other and Snape locked the class door with his wand. "So where should I start... What are you doing in my time," Snape asked Severus. "I was tricked to come to this time by Albus Dumbledore," explained Severus. "Mission to..." he paused to have the youthful teenager finish the sentence. "To become Hermione Granger's friend and guardian of the Golden Trio as a student." Snape clicked his tongue is dismay, "Why do you need to be the insufferable know it all's friend?" "Don't call her that way," the black eye teen snapped and immediately a surge of emotions passed on to him; defensive, irritation, warmth, and love? The sudden conveyed emotions that whirled inside him gave him a sharp pain in his head which caused Snape to shut his eyes. He opened his eyes and he felt remorse for insulting the witch, "She's my friend?" He was so confused; at the witch's name his heart beated stronger and his views on the teenage girl was changing. _Is it because of him? **What's because of me? **Nothing. _

Snape felt uncomfortable by the emotions and changed the topic, "Wait, how can you be a student? Wait, show me your left forearm." Severus frowned, he knew what his adult-self wanted to check. Severus sighed before he removed his thick, black cloak and rolled up the black sweater sleeve up to reveal his forearm. Snape's eyes widened and touched Severus's pale, lean arm; no Dark Mark. "So not only do you look young, you've got the body of when we were a teenager. Then how about the scars," stammered Snape. This was too much of a shock for him,_ how many years have I wished for the damn mark to be gone? Yet he is unmarked of the symbol of the Death Eaters. _Severus ordered, "take your shirt off, you can believe with your eyes that our bodies are different." Snape threw off his cloak and quickly unbuttoned his white, dress-shirt. Severus too took off his black sweater. They both shivered in the cold as they stared at each other. Snape's body was mapped with scars with the sickly tattoo of the Death Mark burning on his left forearm. Severus's body was much less developed; he didn't have much hair sticking out of his arm pit. Severus's shoulder and chest weren't as broad as Snape's body; Snape also had more muscles than he but they were both lean. Yet his body was unmarred with scars nor did it bear the Dark mark. "Yeah, this is how I've been decieving others as a student," Severus explained. "I see," was all Snape could say.

Snape could now understand how his teenage-self got dragged to his dungeon; there was no way Severus could have fought back against the brawny, older teenagers. "So what's this Quidditch buisness, the students were speaking of," he asked while the two Severus Snapes put their shirts back on. Severus wasn't watching Snape while he was pulling the sweater over his head, "You heard the brat's barking madness about Quidditch, they want me to be their Slytherin seeker." _He's me so he clearly couldn't want to pursue after the position. **Trust me I don't, but Harry Potter will be targeted during the first match between Slytherin and Gryffindor.**_They both hissed in distaste. _There's something else though, a small part of you wants to join the team. Why? What are you hiding from me? _An image of Hermione Granger quickly flicked in their minds as the thought of her face quickly faded. It disturbed Snape that the thought of the witch's face smoothed out a knot of his uneasiness and brought warmth to his chest. He clutched at his left chest, _why does my heart beat faster? _"It's something to do with Hermione," Snape whispered. The teen glared at him, "Why are you suddenly acting familiar with her? You always call her Granger or Ms. Granger or insufferable-know-it-all." Why did his ear redden by the comment? Severus let out a low growl, "This is my mission, if you interrupt it any way I won't sit still." Snape straightened his back, "She's my student." They both sent a death glare at each other._**This is bloody ridiculous, I'm competing with my older-self.**_Severus held the bridge of his nose and sighed. Severus didn't understand why but by the looks of it, his adult self couldn't breach into his memories. It made sense since he came from the future; it wasn't possible for Snape to know and remember the memories. He smirked, he was glad that he didn't have to share the memories of Hermione complimenting him or the one where she urged him to become a seeker because she believed he'd be an amazing seeker. "So it's a must for you to join the Slytherin's Quidditch team," Snape broke the silence of the eerie room. "I suppose so," Severus leaned against the cold, stone wall.

"This is going to be complicated," Snape murmured. "I know," Severus whispered. "We need to explain to the other staffs that we met and that you need to join the Slytherin Quidditch team for the safety of Potter," Snape said while pacing around the dark room. They both grabbed their cloaks and went into Snape's private chamber. They quietly climbed the stair case which led to the staff lounge. Snape was about to open the door until Severus tugged at his shirt, "Check if Quirrell is in there." Snape nodded and entered the staff room alone to see if Quirrell was around. Severus waited patiently and realized that at a distance Severus couldn't share thoughts with Snape. "Apparently he's on an evening walk right now," explained Snape as he reopened the door. Severus passed the staff lounge door and all the staffs stared at them horrified. "You two weren't supposed to meet each other at all cost," exclaimed Filius Flitwick. They both glared at the tiny man which immediately kept the other staffs refrained from talking. **You think we didn't know that?** Their thoughts merged together again. "We need Albus and Minerva. Where are they," demanded Snape. Pomona Sprout pointed to Minerva's door. Severus and Snape cooly walked towards the wooden door and Snape rapped his knuckles against the wooden surface. Minerva came out in her night-gown with her hair down. She stared at them in confusion before she was about to shriek in anger. Severus and Snape frowned and Snape covered her mouth his rough, pale hand. "Oh shut up and get dressed woman," Snape hissed. Her eyes were flamed in rage and her nostrils flared before she slammed the door shut. Snape leaned against the right side of the door frame while Severus leaned against the left side of the door frame; they could hear her shuffling about inside her room.

Once she stepped out of her room, she had dramatically changed her appearance; her loose, messy hair was now in a tight, neat bun and instead of wearing her night-gown, she wore her formal work robe. The two wizards smirked while Minerva glowered at the two. She turned to them with a thunderous voice, "Why are you two together!?" Snape cooly looked down at her, "We better discuss this in Albus's office; the four of us." The witch noticed the other staff staring at the commotion;she turned on her heels and marched ahead of them towards Dumbledore's office. They reached in front of the bronze, Gryffin statue. Minerva raised her hands and sharply said, "Sherbert lemon," as they climbed on the statue. The statue began to escalate and it stopped moving with a loud thud. Severus and Snape followed after Minerva who knocked on Albus's office door. "Enter," said the ancient voice. The heavily decorated door opened on its own to let the three of them in.

There sat Albus Dumbledore with the half-moon glass sliding down his nose. He rose from his seat as he saw Severus and Snape standing next to each other. "Absolutely fascinating, so it looks like it is possible for you two be next to each other," cried out Albus enthusiastically. "Albus, this is a serious matter. What's to happen now that these two coexist in each others presence," asked Minerva hysterically. "Minerva. Minerva, calm down. They look fine, none of them are hurt so all's well," Albus attempted to soothe Minerva. "No, it's not fine Albus, they were never supposed to meet. You two knew that so why'd you meet?" demanded Minerva. _**Annoying woman.** _"Do you honestly think that the either of us intentionally met up with each other. I thought of you as a smarter woman," said Snape with a scowl on his face. "Then how," stammered Minerva. "Why don't you tried getting dragged by four brutish teenage boys," snapped Severus. McGonagall and Dumbledore gaped at Severus's explanation. "Anyways it's required that I need to join the Slytherin's Quidditch team despite the fact that I am acting as a first year," sighed Severus.

Minerva was astounded by Severus's declaration and she strongly went against the idea, "that's prohibited!" "Oh please, Minerva, do you honestly think that I haven't heard about you adding Potter as your House's Quidditch team," Snape glared at the woman. Her face contorted and defended her action, "Yes, but he is an actual first year student!" "Which is against our school's traditions, to be more specific, the tradition that Godric Gryffindor came up with" contradicted Snape. "Not only that, are you saying that I am not a valid first year student? I am prohibited from apparating, drinking, and I do everything the other first year students are doing," Severus cut in their heated argument. Minerva glared at the two Severus Snapes which they both ignored. Severus continued with a serious expression, "Do you honestly think that I'm joining the blasted game for fun? You know that I am not a big fan of the brutal sport. My sole purpose here is to protect Harry James Potter." Everyone focused to what he had to say, "If my memories serves me correctly, the Potter boy will be attacked on the first match between the Slytherins and Gryffindors. I am joining to protect Lily's son and that's final." Minerva was no longer frowning but she interrupted, "But it will not be fair for my Gryffindor students to be going against you Severus. You have mastered the art of flying. You were a Death Eater, you've faced danger, your flying skills are sharp; not something for young students to be rivaling at. " Severus glared at the woman for mentioning his days of being a Death Eater, "Are you saying that the Quidditch victory is more important to you than Lily son's life?" "Of course not! He's my student and he belongs in my House. How dare you question my concern over my students' welfare. I was just pointing out the fact that it won't be fair for the students," cried Minerva. "Life's unfair and the students will be damned if they don't realize it," growled Snape. Albus coughed loudly to capture their attentions and he smiled, "Minerva, I've allowed Harry to join the Gryffindor team and so I permit Severus to join the Slytherin team. Severus is joining for Harry's sake."

Then the bell striked and rang loudly outside to announce the student's curfew. Severus had enough of today. He ran his hand through his silky hair and said, "As a first year I should be going back to my dormitory." Albus asked, "Minerva could you possibly tell the other House head professors about Severus joining the Quidditch team?" Minerva gave up, "Yes, Headmaster. Let's go Snape, we need to go tell the other staff." As if Snape would go and socialize with the others; they'd undoubtedly bombard him with endless questions and the other Head staff wouldn't be pleased; they'd complain and argue with him. The very thought of that happening disgusted Snape. Snape gave a sly grin, "As a responsible, Slytherin head, I possibly couldn't let Mr. Black here to go back alone to the Slytherin dormitory. After all it is after curfew." Minerva's mouth dropped while Albus chuckled merrily. The two wizards left the room while slamming the door shut.

Severus walked back to the Slytherin male dormitory while Snape walked back to the dungeon. When Severus stepped in the room, a flood of students flocked around him. _**What the hell is going** on?_ "What did the professor say," demanded the herd of students. "I am the new Slytherin seeker," he said with an exhausted expression. The students howled and cheered, the Slytherin Quidditch team wrapped and placed their weight on his back. _**Holy shit, way too heavy.**_Marcus roared, "Now we won't lose to Wood and his lousy, Gryffindor team! This is it Black, you are our legendary seeker of the century that will rival Potter!" He sighed, he honestly didn't gave a damn. The cluster of students started to gossip and talk excitedly while Severus slipped into the male dormitory.

He wanted to climb into the bed and just sleep yet there was his godson sitting on his bed. The blond boy's face glowed with excitement, "I heard that you made it into the Slytherin Quidditch team! What position are you?" Draco gave Severus some space to sit and Severus said, "Seeker." Draco asked him another question, "Is it true that you are going against Harry Potter?!" He no longer wanted to talk so he just nodded to his question. "You better crush him. I wish I made it into the team," smiled Draco. Draco moved to his bed and Severus lied on top of the soft mattress. Severus stared at the ceiling, "I actually told them you'd make a better Seeker but they wouldn't listen." "Really? Thanks, Severus," replied Draco. Maybe his godson asked him another question but he couldn't hear anything anymore as he succumbed into deep sleep.

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**Great, this chapter is finished, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and continuing to follow this fanfiction; it's my joy to watch the number increase :) Please don't forget to review, I'd love to hear what you as my reader, got to say about the story. Look forward to the next update! Cheers. **


	6. Quidditch Practice

**Time Phase Chapter 6: Quidditch Practice**

**Author's Note: I am most definitely not the British author who created the phenomenal series of Harry Potter or the universe has a serious explaining to do. **

**I feel like it's been a while since I updated, I hope it isn't too long of a wait. Just been crazy busy. For example, it's quite surreal, but I ended up saving a woman's life. She went for blood donation and it made her blood pressure to drastically drop. So while I was in line to buy groceries, it was quite a shock to watch her fall. Thank God, I managed to catch her before she hit the metallic corner of the cashier and that I learnt beforehand how to do a CPR. It's really weird because I feel for once like a true, significant human being. :) Anyhow I should let you read the story in peace so enjoy and at the end REVIEW! **

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On the Quidditch field, there was a sour, grumpy looking Severus glaring at the older Slytherin students. Marcus Flint was too busy glaring at Oliver Wood and his Gryffindor Quidditch team. Both of their Houses were training their new seekers of their prospective team. Severus stared at Harry Potter, the main reason why he joined the despicable, ruthless sport. Marcus and Oliver weren't the only boys glaring at each other; both teams were repulsed by the idea of practicing together. The Slytherin Quidditch captain finally took his eyes off Wood and focused on Severus, "You see that twerp over there. The one with the messy hair and the lightening scar. That's Harry Potter. At today's practice you are going to destroy him." Severus rolled his eyes, _typical , hot-headed, Quidditch imbeciles. _"Everyone change into your gear," Marcus ordered. The boys began to strip their shirt off and place the protecting, padded gear beneath their shirts.

Severus was in the middle of strapping the protective pads over his chest until Graham Montague, the Slytherin Chaser, tapped Severus by the shoulder. "What," he growled as he attempted to strap on the complicated Quidditch uniform. "Your girlfriend is coming over," Graham whispered. He whipped his head up and indeed Hermione Granger was fearlessly coming toward the Slytherin's team. _Shit, I don't need her to see me struggling with a damn padded thing. _A few of the Slytherin boys whistled at her for approaching a pack of shirtless, teenage boys. _Is she bloody damn stupid street-wise? What girl comes near a shirtless pack of hormonal teenage boys? _Severus ignored that fact that he was partly naked and took her aside, away from the pack of wolves. He angrily said, "Don't come near the Slytherin Quidditch team, I mean seriously they won't hesitate to target you just because you are younger than them." "Why would they target me for," she innocently asked. _Fucking unbelievable. She's joking me right? _"Because you are an attractive, teenage girl and they are a herd of hormonal, teenage boys. Do the math." "You think I'm attractive, Severus?" she asked. His mind blanked, _what did I just say a second ago. Did I actually call her attractive? _He didn't think what he was saying so he wasn't certain if he did in fact call the witch attractive during his outburst. He could feel his cheeks and his ears heating up, _damn. _He frowned at his self and couldn't look at her so he started to struggle with the Quidditch safety equipment once more. Hermione smiled at his comment, but didn't push into the subject further.

"You are a seeker just like Harry right," she continued the conversation. "Yeah," finally the equipment clicked on. "You look great in that," she smiled. He couldn't help but snort at her compliment, _no I look bloody ridiculous. _He pulled his shirt over the protective gear while listening to the witch, "No, you actually look good in it." "I don't think you came out all the way here, in the freezing cold, to look for a male model for Quidditch," he joked. "Yes, Sev, I came all the way out here to see you shirtless," she stuck her tongue out. He chuckled, _damn, who'd have ever known that she knew how to play with men? _"Why are you actually here? Aren't you going to cheer for your Gryffindor team," he asked, mildly interested to know the answer. "I came to cheer for both of your. You and Harry are my friends," she smiled. *prickle* He frowned, _why did that just hurt? Friends... we are friends and I'm happy to be her friend. _Severus didn't have much time to deeply think about it as Hermione handed him something black. "This is why I'm really here," she smiled. He carefully unfolded the leathery thing, _what is it? _When he finally unrolled it out, he realized that it was a pair of leather gloves. He inspected them carefully, the stitching weren't the best, but the leather was fine quality; durable. At the bottom in silver, there was his name, well fake name; Severus Black. "Where did you buy this glove, Hermione," he asked. "Um.. I didn't buy it, well I bought the materials, but I made the gloves," she weakly replied. _Damn myself for feeling happpy. _"Did you also make one for Harry," he questioned._ Please say no. __Please say no. Please say no. _"No," she said. _Score one thousand to the new Slytherin seeker. _He grinned at her answer, _how silly of me. _"This is a combination gift, a thank you and a congratulation gift," she said while taking out the necklace he made her from under her shirt. He couldn't deny it, he was in a great mood. "Thanks," he warmly smiled at her. He immediately put the gloves on, _they're warm. _"I actually chanted on a warming spell on it, so it's always warm," she shyly added. _I was right when I called her an insufferable know it all long ago. She's a brilliant, intelligent witch for her age. _"Black, get your ass over here," shouted Marcus. "You'll do great at your first practice," she smiled. He smirked, "Watch me." He marched over to his new team and they raised their eyebrows and jeered at him, "Who's the lucky man of our group?" "I thought you didn't like Gryffindors," he remarked. "If you like her, we guess she's not too bad. Actually she's quite pretty, we can see why she's appealing to you Black. Slytherins support other Slytherins," they shrugged. "Those aren't the Slytherin seeker gloves," Marcus eyed at them. He glared at the brutish boy, _if you touch these, I don't care about my position, I'll hex you. _Marcus snickered, "Lucky lil' rascal, she gave it to you didn't she?" Severus didn't answer the teenager.

He watched Hermione go and sit by the side in the middle of the field. She would occasionally watch either him or Potter. "First we are running laps, do 5 laps around the field," the captain barked. _We are running? What the bloody hell for, in Quidditch you don't run, you fly! So why in Merlin's beard do I need to run? _"Black, we may be on broomsticks, but you need to be fit to play Quidditch. You need endurance to play the game, strength in general to defend yourself from the Bludger and arm strength to throw the Quaffle into the three hoops," explained Miles. Severus knew by fact that he wasn't cut out for sports or exercising. He was lean, but definitely not muscular; not a body of a jock. This was going to be hell. He started to jog with the others and rolled his eyes while watching Wood and Flint having a pointless competition to see who can run faster. _Idiots, reserve your energy._ It was much harder than he expected, the weight of the Quidditch uniform slowed him down. Each step the protective gear under his shirt would bump against his body, it wasn't comfortable in the his 3rd lap, Severus began to decelerate and fall behind. He noticed Hermione watching him, _shit, after what I said, I can't fall behind. Damn it all. _Severus pulled against the weight and caught up the rest of the boys. After their fifth lap, they started stretching their bodies again. "Push ups. Give me 60," barked Marcus. _Damn it all. _Everyone went to the plank position before they uniformly bent their arms up and down. Severus could feel his muscle screaming, he hasn't done any excercise in the past and the disgusting sweat dripping down from his back and forehead which caused his lank hair to stick. Sure, he didn't have an athletic body, but was he the type to give up that easily? Hell no, he was a competitive man. He flexed his arm and back muscles, forcing them to go against their wills to give up. He watched the sweat from his forehead drip onto the grassy field and then stared at his hands covered in the black, leather gloves. _Hermione is watching, I can't give up and collapse pathetically on the field. Hermione is watching. _Their physical warm-up finally came to a close.

They mounted on their brooms and practiced flying; turning sharply, diving, etc. This was the time for Severus to shine, to the students he looked daring, but for an ex-Death Eater, this was a child's play. Even the Gryffindor team players were amazed by his skills. He stopped flying and shook his head to get the sweat off of him. Then Marcus landed onto the field to pass the bats, Quaffle, Bludger, and he shouted, "Black, are you ready for the Snitch?" He focused on the tiny, golden ball in his hairy hands and gave a nod. Immediately, the golden Snitch fluttered its thin wings furiously and flew away from Marcus. Severus let out a hiss before chasing after the golf-sized ball. Before he knew it he was being tailed by none other than Harry James Potter. Harry was now flying next to him. _Damn him for looking like James Potter. _He refused to lose to Jame's son, he refused to lose to anyone. For a quick second, he absorbed his surrounding; it felt as if he was competing with James Potter while Lily Evans was watching them. _Damn, no. I'm going against Harry bloody Potter and the one watching me is Hermione Granger. Focus Snape. Focus. I lost Lily and James, but this time I refuse to lose against Harry and lose Hermione. WHat the hell am I thinking about. Hell. _He glared at the boy who was starting to pass him. _I don't think so Potter. _Severus shoved the boy aside and accelerated his broom; he sneered to find Harry so shocked. _Yes, Potter, welcome to the brutish, violent game of Quidditch. _Severus had all the experience with flying and difficult maneuvers, he couldn't possibly lose to the arrogant boy. When Harry caught up to Severus, this time the boy tried to shove Severus aside. Severus snorted, the boy had no control, he came to a quick stop while the boy tossed himself overboard. _Pathetic. _By now, the members of the Slytherin and Gryffindor team were watching them compete. The moment Harry tossed himself over, the Slytherin team cheered, "Go Black go! Leave Potter in the dust!" He didn't give a centaur's shit about what they said and continued to zoom after the snitch. He glanced at Hermione; she looked worried about Potter and watched him. _Would she possibly cheer for me, a Slytherin? Would she? Course not. I must be going insane. _Then he heard her shout, "Go Severus! Get up Harry!" He couldn't say he was exactly happy about hearing her cheer for him and Potter, but it was better than nothing. Severus refused to give the famous Boy Who Lived another chance to catch the damn Snitch. _That means, I have to catch it now! _He gave the last spurt of speed and reached out his left arm. Almost, closer, he could feel the thin wings fluttering at the tip of his fingers. He leaned foreward and clutched the fast, golden ball. It felt so bizarre, he caught the golden snitch but he still couldn't comprehend how a person feel so happy about catching a single, tiny ball. Yet the rest of the team screamed and roared as if they won the first match already.

He flew down and placed his feet onto the solid ground. The herd of boys tackled him and shouted whatever they were saying. He didn't care, but watched Hermione with the other Gryffindors checking on Harry. _What was I thinking, expecting her to come over and praise me. I must be losing it. _He dropped his broom and shoved his path out of the cluster of teenage boys. "Where are you going Severus," shouted his team mates. He didn't give an answer as he went back to the ancient castle. While walking back, he stared at the gloves on his hands; they were still warm. He had a lot of things to sort out, including his confused mind and emotions.

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**Great, I hope you enjoyed it. It's finally October; so the next chapter might be about either the first Quidditch game or the trolls. Please review; tell me your thoughts. What would you like to read first? Hope you enjoyed it, look foreward to the next chapter! Cheers. :)**


	7. TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!

**Time Phase Chapter 7: Trolls in the Dungeon!**

**Author's Note: Thanks to all of my readers, it's a previledge for all of you to be reading this story out of the thousands. I truly wanted to express my gratitude; love the increasing numbers of followers and reviews. Honestly, I don't mind reading constructive reviews, something that will help me evolve as a writer. I only got one vote sadly and it was the trolls so I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter! Cheers :)**

**Disclaimer: Not the fantastic, creative woman who created Harry Potter, therefore none of the characters, etc belong to me. **

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Severus found himself in Filius Flitwick's charms class; he knew that it was essential for witches and wizards to know the subject, but he wasn't to thrilled about the class. Severus sat next to his godson, Malfoy and his group of friends, and next to their table, sat the Golden Trio. He lazily looked around the classroom with his arms crossed to his chest while Filius was teaching the students the art of levitation. "Your wrist movements should be fluent. Please take out your wands, remember it's only the wrist that's moving not the arm. Swish and flick," Fililus instructed. Each of the students picked up their wands and followed after the man's wrist movement.

Severus was disturbed by the redhead who sitting closest to him among the Golden Trio. _Weasley is going to take someone's eye out with that wand. _It looked like he wasn't the only one agitated by Ron's violent wand movement. He sighed in relief as Hermione who sat between Harry and Ron, scold the boy to move his wand properly. "Very good," complimented Professor Flitwick as he glanced over the students. "Now please let down your wand, as we go over the spell," continued Flitwick, "the charm to make something to levitate is wingardium leviosa. Can everyone repeat after that please?" The students dropped their wands and said in unison, "Wingardium leviosa." They repeated over the spell and the wrist movement for another 10 minutes. Finally Flitwick looked confident to continue the lesson, "You see here is a feather," as he brought out a large, white feather out of his desk drawer. All the students were attentive and interested to see the spell in action, "Wingardium leviosa," chanted Flitwick. Severus rested his head on his desk. _No wonder most of the students are so stupid. The pace of the class will slow down my functioning brain to a stop from boredom. _

Severus raised his head and glanced at Hermione who was thrilled to study the art of charms. Her eyes were lit with enthusiasm and her hands were twitching towards her wand to try out the new spell. The corner of his lip curl, _she's so eager to learn anything. _When he was a professor, he didnt' enjoy having a student that was far too enthusiastic which included Granger. It got on his nerves because when students were too excited they tended to mess up; potions was not a subject for the airheads. While brewing a potion if one dared to divert their attention for a single minute, the potion would get ruined or worse, blow up; he didn't particularly enjoy cleaning up after the students' messes. Yet lately, he was starting to appreciate her enthusiasm to learn. He was learning new sides of Hermione, he was learning her as a person. There were two sides to this; the good and the bad.

_I am succeeding in befriending Hermione Granger. That's my sole mission and purpose for being here in this time phase. Befriend her and get close to her annoying friends so I can offer more protection to them while not changing the future too much with my decisions. _He tapped his fingers on the wooden surface while the other students were awed by the feather floating in the air. Malfoy peeked at him and whispered, "Is something bothering you?" Severus glanced at the blond, _well I can't tell him, yes I'm bothered by the fact that this mission is making my head spin. I can't divulge the fact that I'm his godfather, Severus Prince Snape. Shit. _"I'm just tired from yesterday's Quidditch practice," he lied. Malfoy just nodded and continued to listen to Filius explain their next task.

"There are white feathers in front of you, I want each of you to successfully make your feather float," instructed Flitwick. Severus sighed and stared at Hermione, he felt as if he's been investing a lot of emotions in her. That's what the mission was forcing him to do, and the worrisome part was that he didn't completely hate it. _The girl miraculously wormed her way into my group of friends. I've been way too abnormal lately; I'm feeling so many emotions. It's absolutely disgusting. Utterly distasteful. _Severus played with his wand between his long fingers while the others were busy pointing their wands at their feathers, futilely attempting to get the feather to float. He stared at the teenage girl who got him stuck in the mental and emotional turmoil.

Hermione was busy practicing her wrist movement with Harry. "Is this how you do it properly Hermione," asked Harry. Harry made a swish and flick movement with the wand between his fingers. "Yeah it looks great," smiled Hermione. Harry nervously watched his friend behind Hermione. Ron was shaking his arms forcibly while pointing the wand all of the place; definitely a dangerous thing to do. "Ron, you might want to be more gentle with the hand movement," warned Harry. Ron wasn't listening as he continued to dangerously shake his wand about until Hermione stopped him, "Ron, you are seriously going to poke my eyes out while you are doing that. And you're pronouncing it wrong. It's winGARdium leviosa, not wingardium levioSAAA." Severus smirked watching the redhead's face contort with frustration. He could relate to that amount of frustration when he had to teach the Wesley family. It was fun to watch the youngest Weasley struggle with such a simply spell.

While he was smirking, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, "Severus, do you get how to do this- what are you so amused about," asked Draco. Severus pointed at Weasley and the rest of the Slytherin boys watched the sight. The teenagers couldn't help but burst into laughter while watching Weasley throw a temper tantrum. Ron who heard the boys laugh whipped his head around, "What's so funny? Why don't one of you guys get the damn thing floating? Go on why don't you?!" The Slytherin boys laughed harder while Severus continued to smirk. "Ronald, quit throwing a tandrum, it's embarrassing. Everyone's staring here," whispered Hermione. Ron snapped more, "You are like them too! Why don't you give it a go?"

Severus watched the witch puff her chest out by the challenge and picked up her wand, "Wingardium leviosa." Severus smiled watching the white feather rise higher and higher. Flitwick also smiled at her achievement, "Ms. Granger's done it! Fantastic job, Ms. Granger. 10 points to Gryffindor!" "Weasley, you asked if we Slytherin's can do it?" shouted Draco. Severus glanced at Draco, he knew that his godson was pushing on Weasley's buttons. The redhead was more than angry enough; his cheeks were red with his ears. "I bet Severus can do it too, can't you Severus," asked Draco. Severus regretted telling the group about Weasley's frustration because the situation has escalated; now it was based on the Slytherin's house pride versus the Gryffindor house pride. All the eyes were on Severus now and he didn't want the attention in the least. Filius stared at him with confusion. _Should I perform the spell or not? _The corner of his eyes caught the sight of Hermione watching him along with the others. _Screw it. _Severus got up from his seat and pointed his wand at his feather, "Wingardium leviosa."

He effortlessly raised the feather up and he sneered at the Weasley's confrontation. Ron ducked his head under his arms while Hermione smiled at him. Then he finally realized something;_please don't tell me that I like Hermione Granger. _His felt his stomache drop in dismay as his smug smile faded away. _Good Merlin, please don't tell me that I actually fell for Granger. It was the same girl who he couldn't stand in the past. What changed now? Oh that's right, I'm her friend now. I invested emotions in her. I made memories with her. I care about her. I haven't had a friend in a long time and she suddenly entered my life in a new way. Damn you, stupid, useless hormones. _Severus was horrified and disturbed, he had to leave the room now. "Fi... Professor Flitwick, may I be excused," he asked while gritting his teeth. _You better let me leave, Filius. Either way I'm leaving this room. _

Filius must have understood something, "Yes, you're excused Mr. Black." Severus grabbed all of his belongings and stormed out of the room. Severus didn't know where he was going, he just needed to be alone. Far away from her. He found himself outside as he turned around the corner. He just collapsed onto the ground and stared up at the drifting clouds. _Is it because I'm a teenager right now? The raging hormones? That has to be it. Why else would I be in this stupid state. Damn it. _Sure, his mission was to be friends with her, but not to be in any romantic relationship with her. _Well it could work that way, there were no outlines. Albus said be a close friend, _said his inner desires. _I don't want to think about it. If Minerva knew about it, she'd strangle me. She's like a fierce, protective mother bear over her Gryffindor cubs. Shit. I'm in trouble. _

Severus didn't know how long he has sat there for, just watching the clouds pass over his head. The classes must have come to an end because students were flooding out of the classrooms. He was zoned out until he heard the Golden Trio arguing fiercely. "I swear to God, you're mental Hermione," screamed Ronald Weasley. Severus glared at the boy while getting up from his spot. She was shouting back at him, but he noticed her getting teary. Severus silently watched them bicker while his blood began to boil. Then he watched Hermione run off while knocking Ron aside. "That's why you've got no friends," Ron bellowed. _That boy just signed a contract that will bring him hell. _Severus chased after Hermione to see where she was going.

He came to a halt as he saw her bolt into the girl's loo. _Well shit, what now? _He stared at the wooden door. He possibly couldn't follow after her now. He hated to admit it, but he was worried about her. Severus clenched his hands into a fist and walked away. He'd talk to her later. He walked away to the Great Hall, charm class wa the last class of the day so it was dinner time now.

Severus joined the other Slytherin first year students and they greeted him with smiles plastered on their faces. "Here comes the man that shamed Weasley today," shouted the boys. The name, Weasley caught the older students' attentions. The first year students eagerly told what happened in charm class and the students all laughed. Severus on the other hand was troubled; about Granger, but worse, he felt as if he'd forgotten something important. His eyes scanned over the staff table. _Where's Quirrell? Damn! Quirrell's missing! _Severus dropped his knife; _fuck. Tonight is the troll invasion. _Severus had totally forgotten about the event because it was so long ago. He had to warn one of the staffs. _Shit! Shit! Shit! _

The moment Severus got up, the missing man bolted through the metal doors dramatically. Severus let out a hiss as the wizard shouted, "**TROLLS IN THE DUNGEON! **I thought you might want to know." Then Quirrell fainted afterwards and everyone froze to absorb the news. The second after, all the students screamed and started to run frantically."**SILENCE! Prefects take all the students to the dorm immediately,**" ordered Dumbledore. While the students were listening to Dumbledore, Severus scrambled away from the Slytherin table. He had to go to the upper 3rd floor to stop Quirrell. Severus hid in the shadows while the students orderly left the Great Hall. All of the staffs were leaving the room as well.

He was about to race up to the 3rd floor. _Shit, Granger! _Somebody had to go save her. _Wait, didn't Potter and Weasley save her last time? __I don't want Harry bloody Potter to face any danger. That's why I'm here. Damn it, I also need to stop those two imbeciles from doing the suicide mission. How do I get two tasks done at once? Fuck! Wait, there's the other me. _Severus frantically searched for his older self; he was running out of time. There he was. _Wait, what the fuck, why am I following the rest of the staffs? __**Snape! Snape! **Why isn't it working? _Severus couldn't feel the pain he felt last time. _Damn it, everything's going wrong! _Severus sharpened his mind and his focus. There it was, that pain. Their minds were fusing together.

Snape stopped moving as he felt that pain again. **Do you hear me? **It had to be his future self. _Yes I hear you. **You bloody damn idiot, what are you doing, following after the others like a herd of cattle? Go to the third floor immediately. Stop Quirrell. He's after the philosopher's stone! **You tell us this now? **Oh shut up, we've got no time. Tell Minerva and Albus to come to the girl's loo, the troll is there.**_

Severus disconnected their minds and ran towards the girl's loo. There was Potter and Weasley running towards the same direction as he was. S_uicidal brats. _"Potter and Weasley, go back to your dorm," Severus bellowed. The boys froze in fear that they got caught by a teacher and turned around to see a Slytherin student. "What are you doing here," asked Harry. "Potter just shut up and take that mindless fool with you back to the Gryffindor dorm," Severus growled. "No, we've got to save Hermione," Harry argued. "Look, I already got the professors coming so go back to your dorm," Severus barked. "Why should we trust you, a Slytherin" demanded Ron. Severus glared and tossed the boy to the wall, "It's because of you that she's in that washroom crying. It's thanks to you that she's in danger so do me a favour. Quit wasting my time and go back to the dorm. This is my last warning," he threatened the bewildered redhead. Harry continued to argue, "She's our friend!" "Oh quit, acting like a damn hero, your mother died protecting you so for Merlin's sake trust me with Hermione and go back to the safety of your dorm," Severus snarled. _I refuse to have Lily's son in danger. Yet why must you be so damn stubborn!_

Harry flinched when his mother was mentioned; how did this stoic Slytherin know about his story? No, it would be weird if a wizard or a witch didn't know of his famous story. Yet when this Slyterin said it, there was depth and sincerity lingering in his deep, onyx eyes. They were begging him to leave this instant. It was strange; Harry had been told by the older Gryffindors not to trust a Slytherin, but deep down it felt as if he could trust the black haired teenager. Was it because he knew that Black was a friend of Hermione's? Could he trust him? Severus repeated once more, "Go back to your dorm, I'm running out of time." Thankfully Harry nodded and took Ronald with him.

Severus released a sigh of relief and sprinted towards the girl's loo. Then he heard a high, pitched scream ahead of him. _Damn it all! _As he got closer, he could smell the repulsive, strong odour of the troll. There was no longer a door for him to run past; just a huge, messy heap of rubble at the entrance. His eyes rested on 45', ugly troll and desperately searched for Hermione. Dust, water, everything was flying about, "Hermione!" There she was crouched under the sink, petrified by the troll. When her name was called, she cried out, "Severus!" _Shit. _The slow troll noticed him and raised its weapon.

Severus instinctively raised his wand, "Aresto momentum!" Immediately, the troll began to move extremely slow. He sighed in relief, "Hermione, get over here. Don't worry, it won't be able to move fast enough to harm you." He stretched his arms out and the witch cautiously crawled out of her hiding spot. Hermione hugged him as she grasped his hand. "Hermione, move out of my way. That troll isn't done yet." Severus pointed his wand at the furious troll that drooled all over the floor, "Hermione close your eyes," he made it certain that the girl wouldn't see this, "Bombarda maxima." Great deal of force and fire shot out of his wand as great explosions hit the troll. Then he heard an excruciating crunch at his ankle and felt the warm blood ooze along the floor. _Fuck._ Severus remembered how he got injured by the filthy Cerberus with the most unsuitable name of 'Fluffy'; his other self must have gotten injured.

He made it certain that it was dead. "Let's get out of here before the professors get here," Severus covered her in his Slytherin cloak as he limped out of the girl's loo with Hermione in his hands. He was more than certain that the staff would know that it was his doing, except Quirrell of course. The wizard would be frustrated and hopefully infuriated to know that his plan had been intercepted by he and his older self. Severus breathed in and out slowly to mask the pain shooting up from his ankle. He made it certain that he'd gotten far away from the disastrous area.

He went outside with Hermione and looked into her warm, brown eyes. Severus was shocked, but glad that she wasn't crying. "Are you hurt anywhere, Granger," he asked. She shook her head. It was weird for the talkative girl to be quiet. _I wouldn't be surprised if she was in shock. _He closely inspected her and frowned at a cut by her cheek. "Be still for a moment," Severus pressed his wand against her soft, smooth cheek and whispered, "vulnera sanentur." Next he used the spell, "Tergeo," which got rid of the dried blood over her face. "Look away for a moment," he said. _I don't want her to see my injury. _She obediently listened to his request, "Vulnera sanentur," he pointed it at his ankle. He cringed at the healing process. She turned her head too quickly, "You're hurt." "Not anymore, so drop the topic," he replied. Her lips were thin; clearly displeased. He avoided looking in her eyes, but checked for the last time to see if she had anymore injuries.

"I'll take you back to your dorm," Severus pulled her by her wrist. They silently walked together along the corridor. Hermione led him to the Gryffindor dormitory and she stood in front of the Fat Lady. "My darling, what are you doing out here," cried out the Fat Lady. "It's a long story," she grimly replied. "Password," the Fat Lady asked. "Just let the girl in," Severus cut in with a cross expression. The portrait looked at him, "You know the girl belongs in there, just open the blasted door." "No need to be so rude," snapped the portrait. Severus sneered as the Fat Lady made an entrance for Hermione.

Immediately a flood of students came out with a worried look and hugged Hermione tightly. Fortunately they were too busy paying attention to Hermione while Severus silently walked away. What he failed to notice was the three pairs of eyes looking at his back; to be specific it belonged to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I certainly enjoyed writing it out. Please don't forget to review. Thanks for reading and for the new followers, favouriters, reviewers. Much appreciated. Look foreward to the future chapters and I'd love to hear your ideas to build this fantastic fanfiction :). Cheers. **


	8. A New Bond

**Author's Note: We all know the drill; I don't own HP.**

**So sleepy... =_= I just woke up. I apologize for the late update, I've been busy this long week; to all Canadians, Happy belated Thanksgiving. I admit that I haven't typed out any chapters for a long time and today we're starting off with Hermione's POV... did I already do that? I don't remember, either way enjoy the new chapter :)**

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"Hermione, are you sure you're not hurt," asked Harry who was sincerely concerned for her.

Ronald who too was worried about her safety after the dark Slytherin shouted at him, asked sheepishly, "I'm sorry Hermione, about everything... Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine for the umpteenth time guys. Really, I am," replied Hermione who had been swarmed around by the other Gryffindors. "More importantly, do you guys think Percy will report me," asked Hermione who had been stressing out over that matter for the last few hours.

"Bollocks Hermione, he wouldn't dare with George, Fred and I around," said Ron confidently with a big smile plastered over his face.

"But more importantly, Hermione, how did you return back safely," asked Harry with curiosity shining in his green eyes.

"I honestly don't know what happened back there, Severus suddenly came to the girl's loo and saved me," recalled Hermione.

"We were going to go and save you, you know, but Severus stopped us. For our safety, I think," explained Harry.

"How'd he do it," asked Ron as he sat next to Harry on the brown leather couch.

"I don't know, he just chanted spells even I haven't heard of," Hermione answered with a frown.

"He's full of mystery isn't he," stated Harry as he stared at the fire-place crackling and spitting out orange and red tongues of flame.

"He's just like you Harry, except he's the Slytherin version of you," pointed out Ron.

Harry shivered since the Sorting Hat did in fact wanted Harry to join the Slytherins.

"It's true, no one can deny that Severus is a smart wizard; he excels in all of his classes. Isn't he the one getting most points for his Slytherin House," said Hermione.

"More like a fricken genius, you said he finished his potions right? I mean which first year student has done that in Hogwarts's history? I bet that he's the first one and he's so lucky to avoid Snape's hellish classes," whined Ron.

"Not only that, he's in the Slytherin's new Seeker, like I am... It's quite nerve wrecking to know that I'm his opponent tomorrow..." Harry said nervously.

"Maybe, Slytherins aren't all bad," Hermione thought out loud.

Harry couldn't strongly agree or disagree with what his friend just said because he hardly knew about anything; not about the school's history, the magical world. He was just beginning to understand it all. Ron on the other hand, fidgeted at her comment. It wouldn't be a lie to say Ron was confused. All of his older brothers told him how arrogant and 'pure-bred' the Slytherins were since he was a toddler. Furthermore his brothers stated that, 'a Slytherin can act confident and snobbish all they want. They can talk big like a Gryffindor, but when the time comes, they always run away with their tails between their legs. That's the biggest difference between us Gryffindors and them, Slytherins. We've got the courage of a brave lion.' Ron had to agree after meeting Draco Malfoy, ugh, how he loathed the Malfoys. Yet here was a Slytherin who actually confronted and by the sounds of it, beat a mountain troll. Could he or his brothers beat a mountain troll? Fred and George might be able to. Maybe even Percy, and Charlie. But how about himself? Could he beat a mountain troll like the Slytherin student?

Ron laughed loudly, "Isn't it ironic that the three of us are bonding over a Slytherin? Who would have bloody known that we would be bonding over a Slytherin?"

Hermione told the two boys, "We should all go to bed since Harry needs his sleep. It's his first Quidditch game tomorrow." The three agreed and the boys lazily walked to the boys dormitory while Hermione quickly went to the girls dormitory.

She jumped under her gold duvet and wiggled beneath it. _I wonder if Harry, Ron, Severus and I could all become friends... it'd be nice. I trust each of them... well maybe not all of them. Ronald is... annoying. Kind of, but he seems to be a tolerable boy. But Severus, he really is cloaked in mystery. He's undoubtedly smart, an incredible flyer like Harry, and he knows advanced spells. How did he learn all those spells? I haven't heard of them before. He seems easily misunderstood just because he happens to be a Slytherin. Are all Slytherins like him? Severus seems gentle and quiet. Or is he being devious like a Slytherin? All of the other Houses say Slytherin are the least trust worthy. I'll just go with my instinct. He saved me from a mountain troll for goodness sakes. Harry said he and Ron were coming to my rescue but at the end of the day, it was Severus... _

Hermione didn't know how tired she was until the warmth of the duvet, made her eyes heavy and her thinking process slower.

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Severus yawned and stretched his limbs as he slowly opened his eyes. Malfoy who also woke up, greeted him, "Morning." Severus grunted in response as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He scratched his head as he climbed out of bed. Like the rest of the boys, he let out a hiss. _Shit, it's cold. _The cold gnawed at their bare skin as the most of the boys wore nothing but their boxers.

They walked into the boy's showers quickly to warm themselves up with the hot water. At the start of the year, Severus had been hesitant to go to the showers because he wasn't accustomed to showering with others. In the staff lounge, they all got their own bathroom. It's been over two decades since he showered in this manner. Now he quickly got out of his boxer and walked into the showers. His long, black hair clung onto his skin as the hot water cascaded over his icy skin.

"Severus, you nervous about today's game," asked Draco who was in the stall next to him.

"He's obviously not, we are going to annihilate the Gryffindors today," shouted Flint from a far. "Aren't you Black," Flint continued to shout.

_You've got to be bloody kidding me. Seriously? The first thing that spews out of their mouths is Quidditch? _Severus ignored all the shouting as he rolled his eyes. Instead of joining the excitement over the first Quidditch game of the year, Severus enjoyed the steaming shower. He rubbed the soap over his skin and began to scrub the shampoo over his head.

"Hey guys, guess what! I've got my first chest hair," shouted a boy. _I honestly don't give a fuck. Each of us are going through puberty, you'll grow pubic hair until you turn into a gorilla. Everyone's going to get hormonal and the boys dormitory will stink thanks to all of the hormones and the disgusting sweat. _

Severus got out of the showers and shook his head like a dog drying its fur. He rubbed the towel over his lean body and his cloak, socks, and other clothing floated themselves over. Severus and the rest of the boys dressed themselves before they left the Slytherin dormitory.

He wasn't eager about the barabric sport in the least unlike everyone in the building. It didn't matter which House you were in or if you were a student or a staff. Everyone was eager and chatting about the first match. As he entered the Great Hall, Severus glared at Harry. _It's thanks to you that I'm stuck in this damn Quidditch buisness. _

Severus nibbled at the buttered toast and suddenly the rest of the Slytherin students were building a mountain on his plate. He glared at the pile of food. _Disgusting. _He wasn't a big fan of eating yet on his plate, there were stacks of meat, fruit, toast, eggs, and what not. He wasn't fond of big meals and watching the huge mountain of food made his stomach lurch. Pieces of bacon were touching orange slices as the egg yolk dripped over the apple slices. _There's no way I'm touching this mess, let alone eat it. _

Losing his appetite, he stood from his spot. Before he left the Great Hall, Albus gave him the look. Severus nodded in return as he knew today, Harry would be targeted by Quirrell. It was highly irritating for Severus not to attack or kill Quirrell. He knew the dangers of changing the past so much; it would effect the future. He knew what was to come, but if he altered the past so much, the outcome would differ and he wouldn't know about the future. He sighed before he exited the Great Hall and returned back to the Slytherin dormitory.

Severus undid his robe and put on the annoying protective gear over his body. Next he put on a green and silver striped shirt. _Why do they make shirts striped? I hate striped shirts. Why can't they make it just plain silver or green shirt and put a Slytherin emblem in the front? _Afterwards he wore his black robe and smiled before he grabbed the black gloves. He gently rubbed his finger over his name. He smirked as he wore the gloves on and clamped his hands repeatedly.

He left towards the Quidditch field, Severus knew the drill since he as the Head of Slytherin was in charge of the Slytherin Quidditch team. The team always practiced before the game so it was expected for him to be there for the last practice. He was walking down the corridor and he turned around as he heard his name being called, "Severus!" It was Hermione, Ronald, and Harry.

"What is it," he asked as he stood stoically.

"Um, thanks again for you know, rescuing me," she said with a smile.

"You stopped me for a thank you," he asked while raising his eyebrow.

"Well we all wanted to say thanks," Harry cut in. Severus didn't like the fact that Potter and Weasley were around Hermione, but he was surprised to have James Potter's son thanking him.

"No problem...," he said slowly.

"Um.. well good game on the field," Harry stretched out his hand. _Ha, you mean I'm going to have to save your ass today._

Severus nodded as his answer and frowned at what Ron said, "Although we will be winning." Hermione smacked Ron in the stomach for his comment which caused Severus to smirk.

"Bloody..." Ron smartly stopped his mouth as Severus gave him a cold stare. "Let's get going Harry, you've got a game to win," Ron walked away with Harry.

"Sorry about Ronald," Hermione murmured and Severus answered, "It's nothing for you to apologize about."

"I just hope that all four of us could get along," she said. _Wait, she said four... as in her, Weasley, Potter and me... she wants us to get along... _He must have made a face because she smiled shyly, "Is that so much to ask?"

"Um..." Severus stammered. Severus's hand went to his cloak as he heard a snap and a pop. _Someone just apparated into this corridor. Who is it? _Dumbledore came out of the corner with a warm smile, "My it's nice to see a Gryffindor and a Slytherin get along so well. I heard what you just said Ms. Granger and I think it's a wonderful idea. Don't you Mr. Black?"

_It was stupid of me to believe that Albus would give up on the idea of me joining the Golden Trio. How unusually naïve of me... _Severus crossed his arms to his chest and spoke while gritting his teeth, "It is a wonderful idea, Headmaster."

Hermione who was mildly confused said, "Um.. I should let you get ready for the Quidditch game Severus. Good luck!" Hermione quickly ran off the other direction and Severus glared at Albus.

"You were eavesdropping Albus," Severus said. It didn't come out as a question but as a statement.

Albus still wore his smile and didn't deny a thing, "I just wanted to see how you were doing with you mission, after all today is a big day for Mr. Potter. I've told you this before, but I truly do believe it would be much more natural and better for you to join Harry's group of close friends. I mean, how do you plan to protect the boy and explain the reason why you are protecting Harry? It would be easier for you to say it was because he was your friend." Severus ignored the man and continued his way to the Quidditch field. He didn't want to go over this conversation again.

"Or will you mention about Lily Evans, Severus? Will you announce to the world that she was the woman you've always loved," Albus said in a serious tone. Severus came to a halt and turned around with a dark expression. Severus slowly warned the man, "Do not ever mention her name in front of me, Albus." The old wizard no longer smiled but quietly watched his spy walk away briskly.

Once Severus reached the field, the rest of the team members were already practicing. The beaters were swinging their clubs while the chasers were attempting to score a point from the keeper. They bellowed above him, "Black, you are late! Get your damn ass up here and practice!" _I don't need you bloody, damn imbeciles to order me around. _

Severus mounted his broom and kicked off the ground and practiced accelerating and sharp turns until Madam Hooch came out onto the field. She shouted, "The game will start any minute now, all of you go prepare to make an entrance onto the field! The Gryffindors are already ready and the students and staffs will be coming out soon!" They all returned back to the ground while Madam Hooch prepared the Quaffle, Snitch, and the Bludger.

They went to the entrance with their brooms and Severus tightened his gloves. They could hear Lee Jordan's voice booming outside, "We've now got the roaring Gryffindors! Look, it's their new Seeker, Harry Potter!" Severus could hear the other students sneering and waiting for their turn. The gate opened and everyone orderly kicked off the ground. "Now we've got the opposing team, the Slytherins! They too got a new first year Seeker, Severus Black!"

Everyone went to their position and he hovered up in the air. It felt weird to have so many eyes watching their movements. Severus saw the first year Slytherins cheering for him and he looked for Hermione in the crowd. There she was, next to Weasley. She was cheering loudly just like the other students and staff. He stared at Harry, he'd have to keep his eyes on Harry.

"Now I want a clean game from every one of you," shouted Hooch and she fiercely blew into her whistle which started the game. Severus flew around looking for the Snitch. He had two choices, find the Snitch, capture it before Quirrell hexed Harry's broom or keep his eyes on Potter throughout the whole game. His eyes scanned his surroundings and there it was! The golden Snitch floating and buzzing about next to the Gryffindor post like a bee.

Severus scouted for Quirrell and discovered that the wizard was missing. So he had the chance to finish the game early. Severus immediately raced towards the Gryffindor post and Harry who saw Severus fly away, chased after Severus. Everyone was standing and howling in excitement. _Damn it, Potter is catching up to me. _Severus accelerated and chased after the golden Snitch. The two teenage boys raced each other for the ball until Severus noticed Harry's broom buck. Suddenly Harry lurched away from the Snitch and the boy's broom shook and bucked like an angry bull. _Damn it. _The audience were gasping while Harry struggled to hold onto his Nimbus 2000.

Harry was desperately gripping onto the broom stick and Severus hesitated on what to do. He could hear the rest of his team screaming at him, "What are you doing Black! You're going to let the fucking Snitch get away!" Then he heard clearly among the maddening noise, "SEVERUS!" He turned his head and watched Hermione screaming his name. _How did I hear her among all the noise and when I'm far away from her? _Her eyes were pleading to save her friend. He clicked his tongue, _you don't need to make that face, you stupid girl. __  
_

He leaned forward which caused his broom to go towards the dangling Potter boy. He could hear his team screaming and demanding to know what he was doing, but the audience froze to see what would happen next. Even Potter looked shocked as Severus stretched his arm out. Quirrell possibly may have been shocked because the broom stopped hurling about for a moment until it continued to buck around. "What in God's name are you waiting for Potter, grab my hand before I change my mind," he hissed. Harry immediately grabbed his hands and when he did, the staff began to clap with the other students. The Gryffindors clapped loudly, but the Slytherins hesitantly started to clap.

Harry heaved himself onto the back of Severus's broom stick. Severus quickly lowered themselves onto the field in case Quirrell decided to hex his broom next. The dark wizard must have lost interest in Harry's Nimbus 2000 as he dropped like stone after Harry transferred onto his broom.

"Um.. thanks for saving me Severus," said Harry.

"Just shut up and grab your broom. The game isn't over yet Potter," Severus didn't look back before he rose back into the game. While he searched for the Snitch one of the Slytherin beaters came towards him, "Why'd you save the damn Gryffindor?" "Because I won't accept that we, Slytherins lost just because the Gryffindor Seeker died by cracking his head open," he snapped. The moment the golden gleam of light caught his eyes, he flew after the Snitch for the second time. He grew frustrated as he noticed Potter losing on purpose; the boy refused to get ahead of him.

As he continued to fly, he shouted, "Potter, I know your damn ability in flying and I know you are restraining yourself. If your plan is to thank me by losing your first match, you are bloody wrong and retarded. It's an insult to a man's pride, you fight with all you've got whether it's sport or life. I already said that I won't win because you snapped your neck, but I won't win and hear people say, he won because St. Potter chose to lose." He raced ahead with the goal of capturing the Snitch and then he could hear Potter's Nimbus 2000 accelerate. He smirked as he waited for Potter to catch up. The moment Harry caught up to Severus, Severus tackled the boy aside and sped after the golden ball.

They shoved each other and Severus slammed Harry to the stands. Severus was near the Golden Snitch and he could hear the Slytherin crowd screaming, "CATCH IT! COME ON, CATCH IT!" _Irritating, I'm going to end to bloody, foolish game. _Severus jumped off his broom while holding onto the tip of his broom stick. Severus hung from his broom while firmly holding onto the fluttering golden Snitch in his left hand. Lee Jordon's loud voice echoed across the field, "150 points to Slytherin! Game over!" Right on time, Madam Hooch blew into her whistle. Severus stared down at the Slytherin students cheering, the staff clapping, and Hermione smiling and clapping her hands. The last meant the most to him. He smiled for her and kissed his glove that entrapped the Snitch. Both teams landed onto the ground and shook hands in respect of the sport. Harry smiled despite losing while shaking Severus's hand. _Maybe it won't be too hard to befriend Potter..._


End file.
